The OV-10 served in the U.S. Air Force, U.S. Marine Corps, and U.S. Navy, as well as in the service of a number of other countries. In total, 81 OV-10 Broncos were lost to all causes during the course of the Vietnam War, with the Air Force losing 64, the Navy 7, and the Marines 10.
U.S. Marine Corps operating from , 1983 The OV-10 was first acquired by the U.S. Marine Corps. Each of the Marine Corps's two observation squadrons (designated VMO) had 18 aircraft – nine OV-10As and nine OV-10Ds - night-observation aircraft. A Marine Air Reserve observation squadron was also established. The OV-10 operated as a
forward air controller (FAC) and was finally phased out of the Marine Corps in 1995 following its employment during
Operation Desert Storm, which also saw the final combat losses of OV-10s by U.S. forces. Among these losses were two USMC OV-10s shot down due to a lack of effective infrared countermeasures. Its slow speed was thought to make it more vulnerable to antiaircraft weapons. Forward air control passed mostly to ground units with
laser designators and digital radios and the twin-seat
F/A-18D Hornet (FAC(A)s). Most operational Broncos were reassigned to civilian government agencies in the U.S., while some were sold to other countries. The U.S. Marine Corps YOV-10D night-observation gunship system (NOGS) program modified two OV-10As (BuNo 155395 and BuNo 155396) to include a turreted,
forward-looking infrared (FLIR) sensor, laser target designator, and turreted 20 mm (.79 in)
XM197 gun slaved to the FLIR aimpoint. NOGS succeeded in Vietnam, but funds to convert more aircraft were not approved. NOGS evolved into the NOS OV-10D, which included a laser designator, but no gun.
U.S. Air Force The USAF acquired the Bronco primarily as an FAC aircraft. The first combat USAF OV-10As arrived in Vietnam on 31 July 1968 as part of "Operation Combat Bronco", an operational testing and evaluation of the aircraft. These test aircraft were attached to the
19th Tactical Air Support Squadron,
504th Tactical Air Support Group at
Bien Hoa Air Base in
South Vietnam. The test roles included the full range of missions then assigned to FAC aircraft, including day- and night-strike direction, gunship direction, bomb damage assessment, visual reconnaissance, aerial artillery direction, and as escorts for aircraft engaged in
Operation Ranch Hand. The aircraft's ability to generate smoke internally was used for strike direction and "in four specific instances under conditions of reduced visibility, the smoke was seen by strike aircrews before the [OV-10A] [was] detected." Operation Combat Bronco ended on 30 October 1968. After the end of Combat Bronco, the USAF began to deploy larger numbers to the 19th TASS (Bien Hoa),
20th TASS (
Da Nang Air Base), and for out-of-country missions to the
23d TASS (
Nakhom Phanom in Thailand). The 23d TASS conducted
Operation Igloo White, Operation Prairie Fire/Daniel Boone, and other
special operations missions. Between 1968 and 1971, 26 pilots from the
Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) and
Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) flew the OV-10A on FAC sorties, while attached to USAF squadrons. The 19th TASS hosted 13 RAAF pilots and three from the RNZAF; another seven RAAF pilots and three from the RNZAF were assigned to the 20th TASS. (Consequently, the
Australian War Memorial has acquired an OV-10A
67-14639, which was flown by some of these pilots.) , Florida, in 1980 From April to June 1969, the USAF conducted an operational exercise called "Misty Bronco" in South Vietnam's III Corps tactical zone to evaluate the OV-10A's performance as a light strike aircraft. The results were positive, and as of October 1969, all USAF OV-10As were to be armed with their internal .308 in (7.62 mm) M60C machine guns, which had generally been left out during the Combat Bronco evaluations and subsequent deployment. High-explosive 2.75 in (70 mm) rockets were also authorized for use against ground targets. In 1971, the 23d TASS's OV-10A Broncos received modifications under project Pave Nail. Carried out by LTV Electrosystems during 1970, these modifications primarily included the addition of the Pave Spot target laser designator pod, and a specialized night periscope (replacing the initial starlight scopes that had been used for night operations) and LORAN equipment. The call sign
Nail was the radio handle of this squadron. These aircraft supported interdiction of troops and supplies on the
Ho Chi Minh Trail by illuminating targets for
laser-guided bombs dropped by
McDonnell F-4 Phantom IIs. After 1974, these aircraft were converted back to an unmodified OV-10A standard. At least 157 OV-10As were delivered to the USAF before production ended in April 1969. The USAF lost 64 OV-10 Broncos during the war, to all causes. In 2012, $20 million were allocated to activate an experimental unit of two OV-10s, acquired from NASA and the State Department. Starting in May 2015, these aircraft were deployed to support
Operation Inherent Resolve flying combat missions over Iraq and
Syria, flying more than 120 combat sorties over 82 days. They reportedly provided close-air support for Special Forces missions. The experiment ended satisfactorily, but an Air Force spokesman stated they are unlikely to invest in reactivating the OV-10 on a regular basis because of the overhead cost of operating an additional aircraft type.
U.S. Navy The U.S. Navy formed Light Attack Squadron Four (
VAL-4), the "Black Ponies", on 3 January 1969, and operated in Vietnam from April 1969 to April 1972. The Navy used the Bronco OV-10A as a light ground-attack aircraft, for interdiction of enemy logistics, and fire support of Marines, SEALs, and naval riverine force vessels. It succeeded in this role, although the U.S. Navy did lose seven OV-10s during the war to various causes. At least two Broncos were used as test beds in the 1970s at the
Naval Air Test Center at
NAS Patuxent River, Maryland. Two OV-10s were evaluated for special operations, and the USMC lent 18 aircraft for operation by VAL-4 in Vietnam. In 2015, two OV-10Gs were assigned for light attack operations in Iraq under the "Combat Dragon II" program and completed 120 missions. In 2019, the first of two former VAL-4 aircraft returned to flight by the OV-10 Squadron, Chino, California. Bureau numbers 155493
Holy Terror and 155474
White Lightning. Extensive restoration work of more than 18 months performed by California Aerofab went into 493 and 474's returns to flight.
Colombia In 1991, the USAF provided the
Colombian Air Force with 12 OV-10As. Later, three ex-USMC A-models were also acquired to provide parts support. Colombia operates the aircraft in a COIN role against an active insurgency. At least one aircraft has been lost in combat. The remaining OV-10As were upgraded to OV-10D standard. In November 2015, and after 24 years of service, the Colombian Air Force retired all of its remaining OV-10 aircraft.
Germany OV-10B Bronco of the Bronco Demo Team at the 2018
RIAT, England: This is an ex-
Luftwaffe B-model originally used as an aerial gunnery
target tug. The OV-10B was an OV-10A with no weapons, no
sponsons, and a transparent plastic dome replacing the rear door, which was used by the tow operator. The OV-10B variant was produced for Germany to use as target tug. The 18 aircraft delivered in the late 1960s were equipped with target-towing equipment inside the fuselage. A transparent plastic dome replaced the rear cargo door, and a rear seat was installed in the cargo bay to look backwards out of the dome. After a long career, the Bronco was replaced by the
Pilatus PC-9 in 1990 and all aircraft were retired and sent to various museums and technical schools, or used in aircraft battle-damage repair.
Indonesia The
Indonesian Air Force purchased 16 OV-10F aircraft in 1976. The aircraft were ferried across the Pacific Ocean from
Wright-Patterson AFB to the
Halim Perdanakusuma Airport via Alaska, Aleutians, Midway, Wake Island, Guam, and
Clark Field. They were operated in COIN operations similar to the U.S. Navy's Vietnam missions with their Broncos, but retrofitted .50 cal (12.7 mm)
Browning heavy machine guns in place of the .30 cal (7.62 mm) machine guns. These aircraft were based in
Abdulrachman Saleh Air Force Base in
Malang, East Java. In October 1976, three OV-10F were deployed to the
Penfui Airport in West Timor, starting its vital career in the
invasion of East Timor and ensuing COIN operations. During the operations in East Timor, the OV-10F flight were given the callsign
Kampret (microbat). Starting in February 1977, up to six OV-10F were based at
Dili Airport, with
Baucau Airport serving as frontline airbase. During its initial years, the Indonesian Air Force modified the aircraft bomb racks to carry Soviet-made bombs and rockets as a stopgap measure, as U.S.-supplied bombs would only be received in early 1980. During its 23 years of operation in East Timor, two OV-10F were lost in noncombat accidents, with two crew missing and one killed. In 1977, the OV-10Fs were used during the aerial bombardments of
Amungme villages near
Freeport-McMoRan area of operations,
West Papua, in response to
OPM attacks on the mining company facilities, and of
Dani villages in Baliem Valley, also in West Papua, in response to rebellion against enforced participation in the Indonesian general election. At the start of the
2003–2004 Indonesian offensive in Aceh on 19–20 May 2003, the OV-10Fs were providing air support for airborne landings in
Banda Aceh and
Takengon. The Indonesian Air Force grounded their OV-10Fs following a fatal accident on 23 July 2007. They were replaced by
Embraer Super Tucanos in 2012.
Morocco The
Royal Moroccan Air Force acquired six former U.S. Marine Corps OV-10As in 1981, which were flown to Morocco from Columbus, Ohio, via Canada, Greenland, and Iceland. They were accompanied by 15 US Marines from
VMO-1 and
VMO-2, who formed a mobile training team. The aircraft were based in
Marrakesh Menara Airport, where they were employed in COIN operations against
Polisario forces in the
Western Sahara War using rocket pods and gun pods. One was shot down in 1985, with the loss of its pilot.
Philippines The
Philippine Air Force (PAF) received 24 OV-10As from U.S. stocks in 1991, later followed by a further nine from the United States, and eight ex-Thai Air Force OV-10Cs in 2003–2004. The PAF flies Broncos on search-and-rescue and COIN operations in various parts of the Philippines. The first two women combat pilots in the PAF flew OV-10s with the 16th. This squadron flew antiterrorist operations in the
Jolo island. PAF OV-10 Broncos were repeatedly used in air strikes against
Moro Islamic Liberation Front positions during ongoing fighting in 2011, and two were used in an air strike in February 2012, which resulted in the death of three Abu Sayyaf and Jemaah Islamiyah commanders, among others. Philippine Air Force OV-10s have been reportedly modified in order to employ modern
smart bombs. On 1 June 2017, the PAF OV-10s dropped bombs on Maute group positions during the
Battle of Marawi. The PAF announced that its remaining OV-10s would be replaced by the Embraer EMB 314 Super Tucano by 2024, to meet requirements set by the
AFP Modernization Act to replace the aging aircraft. The OV-10s had finally withdrawn from service on 28 December 2024.
Thailand The
Royal Thai Air Force purchased 32 new OV-10C aircraft in the early 1970s for COIN usage. Reportedly, Broncos won most Thai bombing competitions until F-5Es became operational. At one time, the RTAF flew OV-10s as air-defense aircraft. In 2004, RTAF donated most of the OV-10s to the Philippines. Three OV-10 survivors are displayed, one each at the Tango Squadron Wing 41 Museum in Chiang Mai, the RTAF Museum in Bangkok, and a static display at the main gate of Wing 5 in Prachuap Khiri Khan. The remaining OV-10s were to be donated to the PAF in 2011.
Venezuela The
Venezuelan Air Force has operated a number of new-build OV-10Es and ex-USAF OV-10As over the years. On 27 November 1992, the aircraft were widely used by mutinous officers who staged an attempted ''
coup d'état'' against former President
Carlos Andrés Pérez. The rebels dropped bombs and launched rockets against police and government buildings in
Caracas. Four Broncos were lost during the uprising, including two shot down by a loyalist
General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon. Venezuela's OV-10s were to be retired in the coming years. Originally, Venezuela attempted to procure
Embraer Super Tucano aircraft to replace the OV-10, but no deal was achieved, which President Chavez claimed was due to the result of pressure from the U.S. government. The Venezuelan government has decided not to replace them with new fixed-wing aircraft. Rather, the
Venezuelan Air Force is replacing them with the Russian-made
Mil Mi-28 attack helicopter.
Other U.S. usage NASA NASA has used a number of Broncos for various research programs, including studies of low-speed flight carried out with the third prototype in the 1970s, and studies on noise and wake turbulence. One OV-10 remained in use at NASA's Langley base in 2009, with three additional aircraft obtained from the Department of State formerly used in drug-eradication efforts.
U.S. Department of State Air Wing The Department of State (DoS) aircraft are former Air Force OV-10A and Marine Corps OV-10D aircraft operated under contract by
DynCorp International in support of U.S. drug interdiction and eradication efforts in South America. The aircraft carry civilian U.S. aircraft registration numbers, and when not forward deployed, are home-based at a DoS/DynCorp facility at
Patrick Space Force Base, Florida. The Broncos had sponsons removed and Kevlar external armor panels installed around the cockpits. On the belly was a wind-driven pump adapted from Agriculture Aircraft (crop dusters) with more than a 500 gal (1,900 L) hopper tank installed in the cargo bay. A spray bar extended out to a V from the cargo bay to the tailbooms. A surviving aircraft in this configuration is on display in Tennessee.
Bureau of Land Management The U.S.
Bureau of Land Management (BLM) acquired seven OV-10As for use as fire-fighting aircraft, including the YOV-10A prototype. In this role, they lead firefighting air tankers through their intended flight paths over their target areas. The aircraft were operated in their basic military configurations, but with their ejection seats disabled. The aircraft's existing smoke system was used to mark the path for the following air tankers. Given the age of the aircraft, spare parts were difficult to obtain, and the BLM retired their fleet in 1999.
California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection during the
October 2007 California wildfires with a
Lockheed P2V in background The
California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CALFIRE) has acquired a number of OV-10As, including the six surviving aircraft from the BLM The CALFIRE Broncos fly with a crew of two, a contract pilot and the CALFIRE air tactical group supervisor, whose job it is to coordinate all aerial assets on a fire with the incident commander on the ground. Thus, besides serving as a tanker lead-in aircraft, the OV-10A is also the aerial platform from which the entire air operation is co-ordinated. ==Variants==