Posted on 01/09/2012 2:06:29 PM PST by DefenseMatters
In November 2011, Lt. Gen. Dave Deptula, USAF (Ret.) took TacAir's A-29 Super Tucano for a test flight over Northern Nevada. A highly decorated military leader, Deptula transitioned from the U.S. Air Force in 2010 after more than 34 years of distinguished service. He was the principal attack planner for the Desert Storm coalition air campaign in 1991. He has twice been a Combined/Joint Task Force Commander—in 1998/1999 for Operation Northern Watch where he flew 82 combat missions as a general officer, and for Operation Deep Freeze conducting operations in Antarctica. In 2001, he served as Director of the Combined Air Operations Center for Operation Enduring Freedom, where he orchestrated air operations over Afghanistan during the period of decisive combat. In 2005, he was the Joint Force Air Component Commander (JFACC) for Operation Unified Assistance, the South Asia tsunami relief effort, and in 2006 he was the standing JFACC for Pacific Command.
Deptula was the first Deputy Chief of Staff for Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR), Headquarters Air Force. Responsible for policy formulation, planning, and leadership of AF ISR and remotely piloted aircraft (RPA). He has piloted more than 3,000 flying hours (400 in combat) to include multiple operational fighter command assignments in the F-15.
Gen. Deptula is the CEO of MAV6 LLC and serves as a member of the advisory board of the Sierra Nevada Corporation.
The video link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2uoWeB2O6qQ&context=C3f3ebb8ADOEgsToPDskIVJGE5RnjQjaKtu-kT9R8Y
But then ... waddoo I know, eh ?
For a minute I thought the USAF was ordering P 40 Warhawks. Similar performance as well as appearance. 360+ MPH. 50 cals.Some heavier ordnance abilitites.
Oh, was he?
No,, don’t be confused. The P-40 is 30mph faster and has 3 times the 50 cals.
This thing is a joke,, the A-10 is quantum leaps better in loads, range, survivability, guns, and electronics. The A10 has 11 hardpoints it can use for weapons since it can refuel. The “super” Tucano can’t refuel, so it uses one of its 5 for fuel.
As a rule,, lately when the moniker “super” is added to a machine, beware.
What the heck is a “tucano”? Sounds like a colorful large-beaked bird.
Atually, yeas he was.
Deptula was a LtCol at the time, Wardens deputy in Checkmate (XOXX).
Here is what happened:
In DC Warden made the case for his “five rings” strategic campaign and when he and Deptula were dispatched to the desert to meet/brief Horner, Horner and Warden just didn’t get along.
Horner, always the old Cold Warrior, never did get the point about bombing for effect not just to blow things up. Horner plopped a map down and started to ask Warden f he would bomb this area or that, attack this bridge or that one, and Warden would reply (correctly); “It depends upon the strategic effect you are looking for.”
Why blow up each tank when you can drop a select few bridges and stop the enemy from ever getting to the fight. Kind of like “truck parks” in Viet Nam. Horner grew up thinking that is how best to use airpower because anything strategic had to mean “nukes.” Horner never got the point and kept his head buried in Viet Nam.
Warden never did get the insight to know he was talking to an old “in-the-box” thinker that would not tolerate a new way of thinking. Warden’s ego over-ran his mouth and he was kicked-out of theater by Horner.
Soooo. . . .Warner was kicked out of theater and Deptula remained behind and did the real planning work with the MAAP planners and other key staff. Eventually, Deptula won the day and he is the the true guy behind the success of the air campaign.
Warden may have been a great strategist but he was lousy at selling his idea beyond the Beltway.
Horner is an ego of the first order and never would accept a challenge to his narrow thinking mind. . .and vice-versa with Warden.
However, Deptula knew how to maneuver the staff and eventually Horner started to say HE was the great mind behind the air campaign when in fact, if he had his way, the strategic plans would never have been developed or implemented, and then yes, we would have had a tremendously costly ground war.
OK.... lets set the stage properly..
P-40 was a fighter, not a close air to ground support aircraft.. Oh, it could do this role, but was not designed for it...
The A-10 is no longer in production, tooling has been destroyed, engineers retired or reassigned. The A-10 is a spectacular aircraft, albeit expensive and a gas hog...because of this it’s loiter time over target is limited..it still requires a rather lengthy runway to take off and land...this means that it is not exactly a forward base aircraft.. if you shoot one down, it cannot be replaced at any cost..
The super tucano fulfills a role for the ground pounders.. it is no good for any other purpose.. it requires a short runway ( dirt or gravel is just fine, as it does not have a massive intake to suck this crap up ) it has multiple hardpoints and 50mm machine gun or 20mm cannon, excellent loiter capability and is real cheap per copy... for the price of 1 A-20 ( when it was available ) you got 15 tucano’s... deploy 15 of these bad boys on a forward dirt runway, and the ground pounders got NOTHING to fear....
The turboprop is serving in many roles today. It does not make sense to drop a proven, viable, needed platform because it is not a jet....
I selected the word, right-clicked (in Firefox), selected 'Search Google for "Tucano"', and sure enough, Toucan pics. Then I looked at your screen name- by coincidence, I have the Moonlight Sonata going in the background at the moment.
O-1, 0-2, OV-10?
EVERY thread he has started since he joined has been about this Embraer (Brazilian) aircraft. He starts a thread touting it, or trashing it's opposition, and then does not participate.
And his reason for saying Deptula knows his stuff...thought you would never ask. It seems as though he works for Sierra Nevada, who will be building the aircraft in the US, taking a cut, and sending profits back to Brazil.
It is possibly okay to tout your employer on FR, but the manner in which DefenseMatters is doing it is dishonest, at best.
So dust off the plans and correct the obvious defects/deficiencies. Produce a few. Test them, then produce on a large scale. Save a few billion dollars. Educate the young engineers. Relieve the tax burden on the taxpayers. Sell the aircraft overseas to friends and allies who want it.
I think he clearly stated LtGen Deptula’s relationship with Sierra Nevada in his post—or didn’t you read that far before you decided to whine to the moderator?
I would like to see a sub model of this aircraft produced that could still be armed but maintained by your basic garage mechanic. If things go to the proverbial hell in a hand basket phase, we'll need this kind of aircraft.
Yup....he sure did, but he FORGOT TO MENTION that Sierra Nevada would be building the aircraft. Not what I would classify as an unbiased aircraft tester.
And, there is the problem with his posting/blogging history.
Are you comfortable with FR becoming a blog for corporate shills"
I'm not.
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