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Description
OA-23 Navajo

Place of Origin: United States of America
In service: 2024-Present
Users: US Army, Us Marine Corp.
Operations: South Philippines War (2024)

Manufacturer: Northrop Grumman/Advanced Aviation Systems (AAS)
Unit Cost: $19,270,000
Numbers Built:200<

Weight: 9.8 tonnes (Empty) 22 tonnes (Max take off weight)
Length:16.1 m
Wingspan: 16.62m
Height: 3.46m
Crew: Two (Pilot, Observer/Weapons system operator)
Passengers: None

Armour: Titanium-Ceramic composite armour around cockpit and critical systems.
Armament: 40mm rotary cannon, capable of mounting most aircraft weapons in US military arsenal.
Engine: GE-236 UDF propfan, 40Kn thrust
Max Speed: 700 Km/hr at sea level
Service Ceiling: 14,000 meters
Ferry range: 4975 km
Combat Radius: 600 km with 2 hour loiter

In the mid 80's, rising fuel prices were a big concern to aircraft operators, as the high price of avgas forced many to ground thirsty aircraft built during the 50's and 60's. Many projects were started to find a way to overcome the high fuel prices by reducing fuel used by passenger aircraft. The most promising of these projects was the propfan. The idea of the propfan is to combine the the lower fuel consumption of a turboprop with the higher speeds of a turbofan. in effect, a propfan was a propeller engine capable of jet engine like thrust.

Experiments were positive, with experimental propfans shown to be capable of propelling an aircraft to jet engine like speeds while using 30% less fuel. Issues of noise and vibration were being worked on when the projects fell foul of a drop in gas prices. In a lack of foresight, funds were pulled from the propfan experiment, and the technology lay mostly forgotten, until the early 21st century, where once again rising fuel prices sent airlines and aircraft operators scrambling to find a way to reduce costs. and the propfan lived again.

By 2020, restarted propfan projects had solved the issues of noise and vibrations, and many aircraft corporations began to offer propfan equipped airliners. While the commercial propfan was taking off, several aerospace developers began to look into general and military aviation applications for the propfan. Soon, propfan powered executive aircraft and transports began to appear on the market.

While most development of propfan powered aircraft concentrated on larger transport aircraft, some were interested in the potential of propfans in combat aircraft. Advanced Aviation Systems (AAS) was founded by several former Boeing and Lockheed engineers who felt their former employers were too blinkered to fully take advantage of new technologies or consider unusual solutions. AAS was dedicated to pushing the boundary of aviation technology were-ever possible, and in the new propfan revolution saw a possible market for fuel efficient attack fighter for cash strapped air forces.

Started in 2019, Project Whistler was the AAS first major development program, and was funded entirely in house. Two designs were vetted, W-1, a lightweight attack aircraft with a single pusher propfan, and W-2, a larger, heavier twin propfan design. Using advanced computer design programs, 3d printer assisted rapid prototyping and scale modelling, a prototype of each aircraft was produced in Mid 2021. Test flights showed that the both the W-1 and W-2 were fast and manoeuvrable subsonic aircraft, however issues of vibrations causing instability in flight wer soon apparent. Another three months of rapid prototype development solved most of these issues.

During this time only minimal interest was shown in the propfan fighters, mostly curiosity, however an event in early 2022 would have bring great attention to the program. For years, the US army and US air force had been at loggerheads of aircraft requirements. Due to past agreements, the US army was reliant on the US air force for fixed wing CAS and light tactical transport aircraft. However, the US airforce had little interest in using its procurement dollars to purchase these types of aircraft, preferring instead to buy expensive supersonic stealth fighters and large strategic transports. A classic example of this was the retirement of the slow, dependable A-10, a Favourite in the CAS community, and replaced it with the F-35, a high speed stealth attack fighter. Combat in the Korean Reunification soon showed that while the F-35 was a superb tactical fighter-bomber, it was unsuited to the long loiter CAS role. Thus the US army was left without adequate CAS support.

The Havenbrook Commission into military procurement was a truing point. Although the army suffered embarrassment when the Secretary of the army was forced to retire due to corruption allegations, the commissions review of the Air Forces procurements plans left it feeling vindicated. the commission found the Air Force was flagrantly ignoring or suppressing these vital aircraft projects. This lead to the Tally Commission on the reorganising of military aviation, where, after a long protracted battle with the air force, forced a revision of the Pace-Finletter MOU 1952 and Johnson-McConnell agreement, allowing the Army to once again operate fixed wing aircraft. The air force managed a small victory, however, with the make take off weight limited to 30,000 kg, and the Army not allowed to operate jet aircraft.

The army immediately began a crash procurement program for the C-27 light tactical transport and a serch for a new CAS aircraft. Top on their list was an aircraft that could replace the A-10, a tough task since the Army could not purchase jet aircraft.

Enter the W-2. With the army looking for a new A-10 like CAS aircraft, AAS saw a potential market for their propfan fighters. The W-2 was in a similar size and weight class as the A-10, indeed the designers of the W-2 had used the A-10 as a reference. The W-2 was ready for flight testing, the only issue was that AAS lacked the industrial capacity for mass producing the fighter. The solution was to partner with one of the larger aircraft companies. Eventually, after some unsuccessful pitches to Boeing and Sikorsky, Northrop Grumman took up the offer and partnered with AAS, offering the the W-2 to the army as the W-2 "Navajo". In early 2023, the Army selected the "Navajo", and the type received the designation OA-23

The Navajo is a mid-weight subsonic Observation and attack fighter powered by two turboprop engines. These engines provide an ample amount of thrust while providing excellent fuel economy giving it impressive range and loiter ability. The design follows many of the survivability features set by its predecessor the A-10. the two engines are mounted above the fuselage, protected from ground fire. Its fuselage is an unusual shape, thin at the nose but widening and the rear, forming a dart shape. the wide rear fuselage provides additional lift, as well as protecting the engines. six weapons stations under the wings and two under the body provide great weapons carriage. as well as external weapons, the OA-23 is equipped with a powerful 40mm revolver cannon, in a centreline position. several different cannons were trialled, including an three barrel version of the famous 30mm GAU-8 and a 57mm cannon, before selecting the 40mm. Irt was selected for its decreased weight and higher lethality over other cannons, as well as ammunition commonality with other 40mm equipped army vehicles. IN service, the OA-23's cannons usually fire multi purpose 40mm APFI round, Armour-Piercing-Fragmentation-Incendiary.

As stated by its designation, the OA-23 is also an observation aircraft. Its large cockpit canopy offers great visibility for the crew, with the back seat usually filled by an observer. The OA-23 is equipped with a combined FLIR/Laser designator in a ball mount on the belly beneath the cockpit, allowing observation and targeting in all visibility and lighting conditions. As well as the the FLIR, the OA-23 has a modular radar system in the nose. Standard equipment is a terrain following radar, however this can be replaced with a large surveillance radar with multiple sideways and forward looking arrays.

The first 10 production model OA-23's came on-line in mid 2024, in time to participate in the South Philippines War. The OA-23 were tasked in observing and interdicting boat traffic between rebel held island, as well as supporting U.S. Army and Marine Corp. military operations. Since its induction, The Marine Corp. has also purchased the OA-23, and their has been some interest from overseas buyers, including Australia and South Africa.

Description
OA-23 Navajo

Place of Origin: United States of America
In service: 2024-Present
Users: US Army, Us Marine Corp.
Operations: South Philippines War (2024)

Manufacturer: Northrop Grumman/Advanced Aviation Systems (AAS)
Unit Cost: $19,270,000
Numbers Built:200<

Weight: 9.8 tonnes (Empty) 22 tonnes (Max take off weight)
Length:16.1 m
Wingspan: 16.62m
Height: 3.46m
Crew: Two (Pilot, Observer/Weapons system operator)
Passengers: None

Armour: Titanium-Ceramic composite armour around cockpit and critical systems.
Armament: 40mm rotary cannon, capable of mounting most aircraft weapons in US military arsenal.
Engine: GE-236 UDF propfan, 40Kn thrust
Max Speed: 700 Km/hr at sea level
Service Ceiling: 14,000 meters
Ferry range: 4975 km
Combat Radius: 600 km with 2 hour loiter

In the mid 80's, rising fuel prices were a big concern to aircraft operators, as the high price of avgas forced many to ground thirsty aircraft built during the 50's and 60's. Many projects were started to find a way to overcome the high fuel prices by reducing fuel used by passenger aircraft. The most promising of these projects was the propfan. The idea of the propfan is to combine the the lower fuel consumption of a turboprop with the higher speeds of a turbofan. in effect, a propfan was a propeller engine capable of jet engine like thrust.

Experiments were positive, with experimental propfans shown to be capable of propelling an aircraft to jet engine like speeds while using 30% less fuel. Issues of noise and vibration were being worked on when the projects fell foul of a drop in gas prices. In a lack of foresight, funds were pulled from the propfan experiment, and the technology lay mostly forgotten, until the early 21st century, where once again rising fuel prices sent airlines and aircraft operators scrambling to find a way to reduce costs. and the propfan lived again.

By 2020, restarted propfan projects had solved the issues of noise and vibrations, and many aircraft corporations began to offer propfan equipped airliners. While the commercial propfan was taking off, several aerospace developers began to look into general and military aviation applications for the propfan. Soon, propfan powered executive aircraft and transports began to appear on the market.

While most development of propfan powered aircraft concentrated on larger transport aircraft, some were interested in the potential of propfans in combat aircraft. Advanced Aviation Systems (AAS) was founded by several former Boeing and Lockheed engineers who felt their former employers were too blinkered to fully take advantage of new technologies or consider unusual solutions. AAS was dedicated to pushing the boundary of aviation technology were-ever possible, and in the new propfan revolution saw a possible market for fuel efficient attack fighter for cash strapped air forces.

Started in 2019, Project Whistler was the AAS first major development program, and was funded entirely in house. Two designs were vetted, W-1, a lightweight attack aircraft with a single pusher propfan, and W-2, a larger, heavier twin propfan design. Using advanced computer design programs, 3d printer assisted rapid prototyping and scale modelling, a prototype of each aircraft was produced in Mid 2021. Test flights showed that the both the W-1 and W-2 were fast and manoeuvrable subsonic aircraft, however issues of vibrations causing instability in flight wer soon apparent. Another three months of rapid prototype development solved most of these issues.

During this time only minimal interest was shown in the propfan fighters, mostly curiosity, however an event in early 2022 would have bring great attention to the program. For years, the US army and US air force had been at loggerheads of aircraft requirements. Due to past agreements, the US army was reliant on the US air force for fixed wing CAS and light tactical transport aircraft. However, the US airforce had little interest in using its procurement dollars to purchase these types of aircraft, preferring instead to buy expensive supersonic stealth fighters and large strategic transports. A classic example of this was the retirement of the slow, dependable A-10, a Favourite in the CAS community, and replaced it with the F-35, a high speed stealth attack fighter. Combat in the Korean Reunification soon showed that while the F-35 was a superb tactical fighter-bomber, it was unsuited to the long loiter CAS role. Thus the US army was left without adequate CAS support.

The Havenbrook Commission into military procurement was a truing point. Although the army suffered embarrassment when the Secretary of the army was forced to retire due to corruption allegations, the commissions review of the Air Forces procurements plans left it feeling vindicated. the commission found the Air Force was flagrantly ignoring or suppressing these vital aircraft projects. This lead to the Tally Commission on the reorganising of military aviation, where, after a long protracted battle with the air force, forced a revision of the Pace-Finletter MOU 1952 and Johnson-McConnell agreement, allowing the Army to once again operate fixed wing aircraft. The air force managed a small victory, however, with the make take off weight limited to 30,000 kg, and the Army not allowed to operate jet aircraft.

The army immediately began a crash procurement program for the C-27 light tactical transport and a serch for a new CAS aircraft. Top on their list was an aircraft that could replace the A-10, a tough task since the Army could not purchase jet aircraft.

Enter the W-2. With the army looking for a new A-10 like CAS aircraft, AAS saw a potential market for their propfan fighters. The W-2 was in a similar size and weight class as the A-10, indeed the designers of the W-2 had used the A-10 as a reference. The W-2 was ready for flight testing, the only issue was that AAS lacked the industrial capacity for mass producing the fighter. The solution was to partner with one of the larger aircraft companies. Eventually, after some unsuccessful pitches to Boeing and Sikorsky, Northrop Grumman took up the offer and partnered with AAS, offering the the W-2 to the army as the W-2 "Navajo". In early 2023, the Army selected the "Navajo", and the type received the designation OA-23

The Navajo is a mid-weight subsonic Observation and attack fighter powered by two turboprop engines. These engines provide an ample amount of thrust while providing excellent fuel economy giving it impressive range and loiter ability. The design follows many of the survivability features set by its predecessor the A-10. the two engines are mounted above the fuselage, protected from ground fire. Its fuselage is an unusual shape, thin at the nose but widening and the rear, forming a dart shape. the wide rear fuselage provides additional lift, as well as protecting the engines. six weapons stations under the wings and two under the body provide great weapons carriage. as well as external weapons, the OA-23 is equipped with a powerful 40mm revolver cannon, in a centreline position. several different cannons were trialled, including an three barrel version of the famous 30mm GAU-8 and a 57mm cannon, before selecting the 40mm. Irt was selected for its decreased weight and higher lethality over other cannons, as well as ammunition commonality with other 40mm equipped army vehicles. IN service, the OA-23's cannons usually fire multi purpose 40mm APFI round, Armour-Piercing-Fragmentation-Incendiary.

As stated by its designation, the OA-23 is also an observation aircraft. Its large cockpit canopy offers great visibility for the crew, with the back seat usually filled by an observer. The OA-23 is equipped with a combined FLIR/Laser designator in a ball mount on the belly beneath the cockpit, allowing observation and targeting in all visibility and lighting conditions. As well as the the FLIR, the OA-23 has a modular radar system in the nose. Standard equipment is a terrain following radar, however this can be replaced with a large surveillance radar with multiple sideways and forward looking arrays.

The first 10 production model OA-23's came on-line in mid 2024, in time to participate in the South Philippines War. The OA-23 were tasked in observing and interdicting boat traffic between rebel held island, as well as supporting U.S. Army and Marine Corp. military operations. Since its induction, The Marine Corp. has also purchased the OA-23, and their has been some interest from overseas buyers, including Australia and South Africa.