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Truly the End of another Era of the Philippine Air Force (PAF) Combat Military Aircraft after the last two of its OV-10 Bronco Fixed Wing Aircraft and two AH-1S Cobra Attack Helicopters were finally retired at the Major Danilo Atienza Air Base in Sangley Point in Cavite recently.
The PAF acquired the OV-10 Units as secondhand back in the early 1990s, and until this retirement, the PAF was the only one left that was using it in active Military Service. With this retirement then, there will be no more OV-10 Broncos left in use by any Armed Forces in the World.
So this is not just the End of the Bronco with the PAF, this is the End of the Bronco’s Military Service in the World. And it is a very well deserved rest, just like many United States (US) made, Vietnam War-era Military Equipment, the Bronco seems to be well loved by the Philippine Military.
The Bronco has participated in many Combat Operations of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), particularly during Operation Thunderbolt in 2000 against the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF); the Basilan Mission in 2001 and the Sulu Archipelago Offensive in 2006.
And of course it also participated in the now infamous "Battle of Marawi" in 2017 where it proved critical for the Government's success against the Terrorists, conducting 88 Strikes against the Enemy.
There are still a Number of Videos online of the Bronco conducting Dive Bombings at an almost 90 degree Angle with the Ground and emitting a scary whistling sound as it did so during that Battle.
Despite this retirement, the PAF still has its six A-29 Super Tucano and twelve FA-50PH Fighting Eagle Aircraft that it could use for its Fixed Wing Attack Missions.
A big surprise for me though was the retirement also of the AH-1S Cobra Helicopter since these were acquired by the PAF only recently. They were delivered in 2019, but as far as I can tell, they didn't enter Service, or at least weren't transferred to the 15th Strike Wing until 2021.
So that's only around three Years of active Service. The Cobra has the distinction of being the first Purpose-built Attack Helicopter of the PAF because it entered Service ahead of the new T129B ATAK Helicopters.
Despite its short service Life with the PAF, the Cobra was still able to participate in many Combat Operations in Luzon, particularly around the Abra and Cagayan Areas. It reportedly participated in Oplan Polaris II in Cagayan and Oppord Kilo Uno in Nueva Vizcaya.
I’m not sure why the PAF decided to retire these Helicopters early, it likely has something to do with its age and the Fact that these were very well used already during their transfer here.
Maintenance for these are likely to be frequent and expensive also, and the Fact that it only has one Engine means that Maintenance is a lot more critical because if that one Engine fails, then it might lead to a Catastrophic Result.
The PAF probably also felt that they now have enough Assets already for their current use with the arrival of the last two of six brand new T129B ATAK Helicopters earlier this Year of 2024. Anyway, sad to see these Aircraft go, but it is what it is ...
SOURCE:
* 15th Strike Wing Facebook Page Post, 12/28/24 - 2235H {Archived Link}
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| End of an Era as Philippines retires the last of its OV-10 Bronco and AH-1S Cobra Aircraft |
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