NationStates Jolt Archive

A press release from the Imperial Defence Bureau has confirmed that the Imperial Guard and Colonial Guard will be trialling the latest aircraft to come out of the Roycelandian Aerospace industy- the AG-1 "Wasp" Autogyro.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v290/303EnfieldAU/NationStates/little-nellie002.jpg
The Production AG-1 "Wasp", with full payload

Whilst many people have seen the introduction of an AutoGyro as proof that His Majesty has seen far too many movies, the Imperial Armed Forces are enthusiastic about the new aircraft, pointing out that it has a top speed of just over 200km/h, can carry 300kgs of ordnance/monitoring equipment/whatever, and can operate from a strip or runway just 30m long.

Initial deployment will be to the Philippines for use in Anti-Communist Patrols, and to Guyana, for reconnaisance and anti-guerrilla duties.

The AG-1 "Wasp" is manufactured by the Colonial Aircraft Factory in Nairobi, Kenya, and a civillian version- the CAG-62- is also on the market and has made quite an impression at local flying clubs.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v290/303EnfieldAU/NationStates/IMGP0482.jpg
The Civillian Version, the CAG-62

Initial reports from the field have been overwhelmingly positive, and CAF is considering offering the AutoGyro for export to approved Nations...

OOC: Isn't it incredibly underarmored? A few shots with a sniper rifle...

OOC: Good to see someone else knows the value of low-maintenance, swarm-capable close support craft.

AC, try hitting a smallish target 2,000 feet in the air moving at over 200km/h with a sniper rifle- or even a self-loading rifle of any kind, for that matter.

It goes without saying that the Roycelandian AG-1 has some armour (Kevlar is your friend), and they're designed more for reconnaisance and some very light close support work- they're not going to replace the Spitfire or any of our Helicopters, you understand... just provide some additional flexibility.

OOC: I was underestimating its height range. Sorry. But still, any decent shoulder armed missile launchers will blow it out of the sky. I understand it's mainly for light work, but still...

That device is useless... yet I must have it.

OOC: Basically the idea with these things if you wanted to be really awesome about it would be to make a new branch for your military. It should be made entirely of conscripts, they are trained on these, then sent into battle with a bag full of hand grenades on their lap, and also lugers.

(Hm. I have some questions. If it's to stay thousands of feet in the air over almost exclusively jungle terrain... is it actually of any use in recon role? Or strike, for that matter?
It can't have a lot of complicated avionics or observation equipment, eh?
I fear that this may be a major flop for the Roiks. In the Philippines it will face tens of thousands of NPA fighters and the Philippines Liberation Soviet armed with Terrier and Sumpit MANPADS and 11mm machineguns and 17mm cannons. Unsure of how effective the IR-guided Terrier will be, the optically guided Sumpit will have a damn near 100% success rate against these chappies. They're going to have to stay away from clearings and villages, which may defeat their point. Flying along, then suddenly the rush of a missile flying twenty times faster and a tiny fraction of a second later, that's another trained imperialist dead.
Ah, but it still looks like it'd be fun to fly :) )

I should mention that the AG-1 does have limited ECMs (mainly chaff launchers and a small jammer).

It's also worth bearing in mind that Roycelandian avionics equipment is fairly advanced, and whilst the Wasp's avionics aren't anywhere near as advanced as the Jetfire, or even the Spitfire, it's about the same as the Tigershark biplane's avionics (Spitfire pilots learn to fly in the CAF Tigershark, a dual-seat biplane. There's also a ground attack version that isn't used much outside Africa, for fairly obvious reasons).

The maximum ceiling on the Wasp is 10,000 feet, but it's unlikely they'll ever be used at that height. The initial plan is to deploy them at 50ft-2,000ft (depending on the terrain)

It's also worth bearing in mind that an Autogyro can do things that a fixed wing plane can't- like do a 180 degree mid-air handbrake turn. They're a lot more maneouverable, but they're not heavily armed (I'm thinking twin .303 MGs and a pair of small hydra pods at best- that would be all they could carry with the reconnaisance equipment on board as well).

The whole point of the Wasp is that they're cheap, easily deployable, and give the Imperial Guard an air presence almost anywhere. Sure, they're vulnerable to AA fire and missiles, but so is any other aircraft. And the trade-off for the PLS and NPA will be: is it worth wasting a precious SAM missile on a fairly cheap, disposable reconnaisance aircraft like the Wasp, or would it be better to save it for a Helicopter, AC-47, or Spitfire?

Incidentally, I'm envisioning the Philippines thing becoming very Vietnam-esque situation, with small Imperial Guard units fighting the PLS and NPA in the jungles, strategic strikes, and so on... how's that sound to you?

(Oh, but we wouldn't be shooting at the aircraft... we'd be shooting at the trained pilot. Presently, Igovians are of the impression that the Roycelandian public wouldn't care for the frequent exploding of its sons.

Tangent on the Philippines issue!
I was recently trying to iron-out BG's foreign miliary commitments. Our Philippines effort is as such:
In 1990 the NPA fielded between 18,000 and 23,000 full-time fighters (plus part-time fighters and many times more supporters) and the CPP started asking for official government support instead of just clandestine aid. The Sopworth-Commonwealth granted it. Today, tens of thousands of Filipino fighters are backed by the Commonwealth, controlling vast regions of many islands and having hundreds of thousands of supporters through the entire island chain.
Alexi Rhys-Petrov is the comrade elected to the rank of Soviet Lieutenant in the Philippines Liberation Struggle by the Soviet established to support said struggle.
The Commonwealth's Philippines Liberation Soviet (PLS) has control of one Dwrgi-T WIG vehicle, which is used to run arms and munitions, and technical and humanitarian aid past the Manila government and Roycelandian forces. Usually just a few dozen Sovietists are present throughout the Phlippines with the PLS at any given time.
Some Commonwealth-based E-zines have accused the PLS of assassinating CPP and NPA leaders who have been accused of revisionist or Bolshevist tendancies in order to encourage leftist and out-right anarchist growth in those organisations.)

I see your point about taking out the pilot... just don't look in the manila folder marked "RADIO CONTROL PROTOTYPES- TOP SECRET- EYES ONLY", OK? ;)

Incidentally, things are getting underway in the Philippines now, so you might want to have a look here:

http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?p=9172208#post9172208

I'll pay 980 trillion USD for this. Just mail it to 1888 Fake road on the Planet Fakedeal.

Ahh another James Bond fan! LOL!!
And a Blackadder fan to boot!
"Call Commander Blackadder"

Well, don't you think you're so special, eh Royce? "Oh look, I have an autogyro. Mother, let's go ride in our autogyro. And after that, we can go for a promenade at the university."

Of course, the old Robotstan still flies the Supermarine Walrus...

OOC: Um... what? I'm not sure I follow...