The Basler BT-67 for the Philippine Air Force?

Front view of the BT-67 Gunship of the Colombian Air Force. Photo courtesy of The Dakota Hunter website.

The American company Basler Turbo Conversions recently revealed to the major defense publication Jane’s that they were offering their BT-67 Gunship as replacement for the Philippine Air Force’s (PAF) OV-10 Bronco Light Attack Aircraft.¹ It was a bit of a surprise for me because prior to this announcement, all of the candidates for the Bronco’s replacement were much smaller aircraft. So let’s take a closer look at what Basler has to offer.

’The BT-67’²
The BT-67 is a refurbished, modernized, and improved version of the Douglas DC-3 which first entered service with the American armed forces way back in 1936. What Basler does is to first get an old DC-3 aircraft, inspect and then do a complete overhaul on it. They then reinforce the airframe, wings and control surfaces to allow the aircraft to handle an increased maximum takeoff weight.