Aussies getting PAF OV-10 as museum piece

The Vietnam War-vintage OV-10 Bronco bomber may still be useful in the government’s campaign against insurgency and terrorism, but in Australia, it’s a museum piece.

The carcass of one of the Philippine Air Force (PAF)’s OV-10 Broncos will be taken to Australia after the visit of the Royal Australian Navy heavy lift ship Tobruk in the country on March 2-5, Philippine Navy spokesman Commander Giovanni Carlo Bacordo said.

"It was donated to Australia for its war memorial museum. It will be loaded on the Tobruk and taken back to Australia after their goodwill visit here," Bacordo said.

He said that it would only be the carcass or the body of the aircraft that would be donated.

"They were looking for an OV 10 that they would put in the museum. They found one in the Philippines," he said.

In a phone interview, Maj. Augusto dela Peña, Philippine Air Force spokesman, said that the museum piece requested by the Australian military last year will be transported there after the Tobruk’s four-day visit to the Philippines.

Last Jan. 24, an OV-10 crashed into a fishpond in Barangay Binakod in Paombong, Bulacan, killing its pilot Capt. Aniano Amatong. The second pilot, Capt. James Acosta, managed to eject before the aircraft took the plunge.

Last Oct. 23, another OV 10 Bronco crashed during the landing roll at Clark Air Base in Pampanga, injuring Cpt. Villamor Feria, first pilot and co-pilot 2Lt. Maureen Fajardo.

The OV-10 Bronco is a twin-engine light attack plane used by the military in providing close-air support to troops engaged in firefight against threat groups, aerial reconnaissance and cloud-seeding operations.

The PAF, considered one of the most poorly equipped in the world, has a fleet of 13 working OV-10 Broncos.

The defense department and the military have started implementing the Capability Upgrade Program aimed at acquiring modern equipment for the Armed Forces of the Philippines to bolster its anti-terror and anti-insurgency capabilities.