#1910
North American Rockwell OV-10 Bronco
🇺🇸 United States ·first flew 1965· light attack and observation aircraft
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_of_the_Bronco_Demo_Team_at_RIAT_Fairford_12July2018_arp.jpg)
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10 photos from Wikimedia Commons · credits & licences
- 1. 20100627 OV-10 Bronco Krakow 1141: Jakub Hałun· CC BY-SA 4.0
- 2. 16 19 049 bronco: Dsdugan· CC0
- 3. Balikatan 2019 - Philippine Air Force's OV-10 Light Armed Reconnaissance Aircraft (Image 1 of 2): Sgt. Ariel J. Solomon· Public domain
- 4. Cdf-ov10-N415DF-071022-fox-02-16: Alan Radecki Akradecki· CC BY-SA 3.0
- 5. NASA OV-10: NASA· Public domain
- 6. NASA OV-10 Bronco: RadioFan· CC BY-SA 3.0
- 7. NMUSAF 040524 Rockwell OV-10A Bronco: Oren Rozen· CC BY-SA 4.0
- 8. North American Rockwell OV-10B Bronco (code 99+18) of the Bronco Demo Team at RIAT Fairford 12July2018 arp: Myself ( Adrian Pingstone ).· Public domain
- 9. OV-10-Bronco-Left: NaidNdeso· CC BY-SA 4.0
- 10. OV-10A Bronco of VMO-1 takes off from USS Nassau (LHA-4), in 1983 (6429213): PHAN Dougherty, U.S. Navy· Public domain
what is it?
The North American Rockwell OV-10 Bronco is a twin-turboprop light attack and observation (O) aircraft with short takeoff and landing (V) capability designed and produced by the American aircraft manufacturer North American Rockwell. It was the first aircraft to be specifically designed to conduct counter-insurgency (COIN) and limited war operations. The OV-10 emerged as a concept during the early 1960s by W.H. Beckett and K.P. Rice, having been originally conceived to be a rugged, simple, close-air-support aircraft integrated with frontline ground operations, suitable for operating from the unimproved surfaces of forward operating bases (FOBs), flying at slow to medium subsonic speeds, and possessing much longer loiter times than a jet aircraft, partially by adopting efficient turboprop engines instead of using jet propulsion or piston engines.
How to recognise it: 2 turboprops · shoulder wing · retractable tricycle gear · 12.2 m wingspan
base stats
Bars compare against all aircraft: 3,500 km/h, 20,000 km, 850 seats; size and number built on a log scale up to 640 t (An-225) and 45,000 built (Cessna 172).
fun facts
- First flew 61 years ago, in 1965.
- Top speed is 3.6× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
- Wingspan of 12.2 m: about 3 cars parked nose to tail.
- Can fly 1.0× higher than Mount Everest (8,849 m).
turboprop: A jet-style turbine turning a propeller: efficient on short hops.
spec sheet
- first flight
- 1965-07-16
- introduced
- 1967
- retired
- 1995
- status
- still flying
- number built
- 360
- role
- light attack and observation aircraft
- origin
- 🇺🇸 United States
- makers
- North American Aviation
- engines
- 2× Garrett T76-G-420/421
- crew
- 2
- length
- 13.4 m
- wingspan
- 12.2 m
- height
- 4.6 m
- max take-off weight
- 6,552 kg
- top speed
- 463 km/h
- range
- —
- ceiling
- 9,144 m
- wings
- shoulder wing
- landing gear
- retractable tricycle gear
Specs are for the version in the Wikipedia article's specification section. Blank means the sources don't say.
Sources: Wikidata Q672525, Wikipedia: North American Rockwell OV-10 Bronco (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-24.