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BAC Strikemaster
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Top speed
774 km/h
Wingspan
11 m
Length
10 m
Range
2,224 km
Weight
2,810 kg
First flight
1967
Engine types
Armstrong Siddeley Viper, Turbojet
Bac strikemaster jet over city at low level
The BAC 167 Strikemaster is a British jet-powered training and light attack aircraft. It was a development of the Hunting Jet Provost trainer, itself a jet engined version of the Percival Provost, which originally flew in 1950 with a radial piston engine.
The BAC 167 Strikemaster is essentially an armed version of the Jet Provost T Mk 5; the Strikemaster was modified with an uprated engine, wing hardpoints, a strengthened airframe, new communication and navigation gear, uprated ejection seats, shortened landing gear, and a revised fuel system including conformal fuel tanks on the wing tips. First flown in 1967, the aircraft was marketed as a light attack or counter-insurgency aircraft, but most large-scale purchasers were air forces wanting an advanced trainer, although Ecuador, Oman and Yemen have used their aircraft in combat. A total of 146 were built.
Operational history
The Strikemaster was capable of operating from rough air strips, with dual ejection seats suitable even for low-altitude escape, and it was therefore widely used by third-world nations. Operations by the type were restricted by most military users after the Royal New Zealand Air Force found fatigue cracking in the wings of its aircraft. Many aircraft retired by Botswana, New Zealand, Saudi Arabia and Singapore have found their way into museums and private collections.
The Strikemaster was deployed by the Royal Air Force of Oman on several occasions during the Dhofar Rebellion, including a notable appearance providing Close Air Support during the Battle of Mirbat. Three Strikemasters were shot down over the course of the war, including one lost to an SA-7 missile.
The Ecuadorian Air Force deployed the Strikemaster during the brief 1995 Cenepa War, flying ground sorties against Peruvian positions. An Ecuadorian Strikemaster crashed during a training mission in the Northern Border area, near Colombia, on 25 March 2009. Both pilots ejected; one later died of injuries received during the rescue attempt.
Variants
Strikemaster Mk 80 : Export version for Saudi Arabia, 25 aircraft.
Strikemaster Mk 80A: 20 aircraft were sold to Saudi Arabia as part of a follow-up order.
Strikemaster Mk 81 : Export version for South Yemen, four aircraft.
Strikemaster Mk 82 : Export version for Oman, 12 aircraft.
Strikemaster Mk 82A: 12 aircraft were sold to Oman as part of a follow-up order.
Strikemaster Mk 83 : Export version for Kuwait, 12 aircraft.
Strikemaster Mk 84 : Export version for Singapore, 16 aircraft.
Strikemaster Mk 87 : Export version for Kenya, six aircraft.
Strikemaster Mk 88 : Export version for New Zealand, 16 aircraft.
Strikemaster Mk 89 : Export version for Ecuador, 22 aircraft.
Strikemaster Mk 89A: A number of aircraft were sold to Ecuador as part of a follow-up order.
Strikemaster Mk 90 : Export version for Sudan. The last Strikemaster was delivered to Sudan in 1984.
Range: 1,382 mi (1,200 nmi, 2,224 km) (at max take-off weight)
Combat radius: 145 mi (126 nmi, 233 km) with 3,000 lb (1,360 kg) weapons, lo-lo-lo profile
Service ceiling: 40,000 ft (12,200 m)
Rate of climb: 5,250 ft/min (26.7 m/s)
Armament
Guns: 2× 7.62 mm NATO machine guns with 550 rounds each
Hardpoints: 4 (2 per wing) with a capacity of 3,000 lb (1,364 kg) of bombs, machine gun pods, air-to-ground rocket pods, fuel drop tanks, and napalm tanks.