The Bronco is Back! Blue Air Training Acquires Seven OV-10 light attack aircraft to support JTAC training missions

The Bronco is Back! Blue Air Training Acquires Seven OV-10 light attack aircraft to support JTAC training missions

By Dario Leone
Mar 30 2020
Share this article

The versatility and reliability of the Bronco make this aircraft an ideal JTAC training platform, with in-theater endurance topping five hours. 

Blue Air Training, a global leader in Close Air Support training, adds powerful new training aircraft to the fleet. Blue Air Training recently acquired OV-10 Broncos to further support their mission to train America’s warfighters. 

On Mar. 27, 2020 in fact, Blue Air Training announced in a news release that is integrating the highly reliable, cost effective, multi-purpose light attack OV-10 Category E “jet class” into training missions. The versatility and reliability of the Bronco make this aircraft an ideal Joint Terminal Attack Controller (JTAC) training platform, with in-theater endurance topping five hours. 

The iconic OV-10 was initially conceived in the early 1960s and designed for rugged, simple, close air support (CAS), integrated with reconnaissance and forward ground operations. The Bronco’s missions included observation, forward air control, helicopter escort, armed reconnaissance, gunfire spotting, utility and ground attack. 

The OV-10 was used for decades and flew with three branches of the military, the US Air Force, US Navy and US Marine Corps, along with several allied militaries. Besides the military, other US agencies who flew the OV-10 include NASA, State Department Air Wing, Bureau of Land Management, California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection to name a few. Most recently, US Special Forces have used the OV-10 in several operations in active theaters combating ISIS

“As a career A-10 Pilot, I’ve always had a tremendous respect and appreciation for the OV-10 Bronco. Its unique look and mission focused design rings true to my heart. In our configuration of 8 bombs, 7 rockets, 2000 rounds, FLIR and LINK-16 there is no wonder why this aircraft was recently selected to take the fight to ISIS. For those very reasons the seven OV-10D+ and OV-10G Broncos we are adding to the Blue Air Close Air Support fleet are undeniably the best JTAC training platform in the air, anywhere.” – Founder and CEO, James “Chef” Barlow. 

The Bronco is Back! Blue Air Training Acquires Seven OV-10 light attack aircraft to support JTAC training missions

Photo credit: Blue Air Training


Share this article

Dario Leone

Dario Leone

Dario Leone is an aviation, defense and military writer. He is the Founder and Editor of “The Aviation Geek Club” one of the world’s most read military aviation blogs. His writing has appeared in The National Interest and other news media. He has reported from Europe and flown Super Puma and Cougar helicopters with the Swiss Air Force.

Leave a comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Share this article


Share this article
Share this article

Always up to date! News and offers delivered directly to you!

Get the best aviation news, stories and features from The Aviation Geek Club in our newsletter, delivered straight to your inbox.



    Share this article
    Back to top
    My Agile Privacy
    This website uses technical and profiling cookies. Clicking on "Accept" authorises all profiling cookies. Clicking on "Refuse" or the X will refuse all profiling cookies. By clicking on "Customise" you can select which profiling cookies to activate.
    Warning: some page functionalities could not work due to your privacy choices