Singapore Air Show 2010: Boeing pins hopes on revived Bronco

Development of the revived Boeing OV-10 Bronco counter-insurgency aircraft being submitted for the US Air Force's (USAF's) light attack and armed reconnaissance (LAAR) requirement will proceed regardless of the outcome of the competition, company officials said on 3 February.

Speaking at the Singapore Air Show at Changi Airport, Boeing's vice-president of business development for Global Strike Systems, Jeff Johnson, said that the OV-10X's "best bet" is to win the LAAR competition, but that this is not essential as there has been strong international interest in the programme. "Several countries have got very excited about the type of capability that an OV-10 could bring to their air forces," he said.

He added that the company could have a flying prototype ready within nine months, but that the real challenge would be costing the low-rate production run of the LAAR programme (the USAF has a requirement for 100 aircraft).