FAE F-45D Goshawk vs Columbian NarcoReds

[comrade harps]

McDonnell Douglas F-45D Goshawk
a/c 610, Escuadrón de Combate 2116, Fueza Aerea Ecuatoriana (FAE)
Base Aérea Lago Agrio, March, 1990



Many Allied air forces saw the need for recapitalization following the UN's withdrawal from the battle for Africa. By the mid-1980s a new generation of aircraft was entering service to replace legacy or supplement legacy types. For the FAE the respite from continuous combat operations gave it the opportunity to reduce the number of types in service and in 1982 it issued a requirement for a common platform to fulfill advanced jet trainer and radar-equipped fighter/bomber roles, replacing the A-37B, B-57B, F-5A and B, T-33A, and T-37C types. Numerous proposals were offered, including versions of the BMX International(Brazil/Mexico), FMA IA-63F/A (Argentina), Lockheed Air Services A-4ME/TA-4ME based on surplus A-4Ms (USA), ENEAR's F-36E/T-36DD Halcón (Chile), Dassault Canada's Alpha Jet Lancier and Alpha Jet Advanced Training System (Canada) and the AIDC's Prianha (Taiwan).



The winners were the F-45D and T-45E Goshawk, which were export-only developments of the T-45 developed for the US Navy. However, it should be noted that the Goshawk was itself an Americanized Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation CA-30 Hawk and that the F-54D was based on the CA-33 single-seat combat version and the T-45E on the CA-32 two-seat combat/trainer variant.



The F-45D entered FAE service in late 1984. Serving alongside the FAE's Mirage F.1EE fighters, the F-45D soon proved its credentials during training, often acquiring mock kills against the Mirage pilots by virtue of its superior situational awareness; manufacturer claims about the capabilities of the  APG-66H radar being superior to the Mirage's Cyrano IVM being proven to be correct. This caused some degree of consternation among the FAE's Mirage pilots to say the least!




Much that ego was put aside when the Colombian Crisis came to a head with UN's campaign to topple the democratically elected NarcoReds began on the 23rd March, 1990. The trouble that lead to the so-called Columbian Crisis of 1990 began when the populist leftist Alvaro Diaz was elected President in 1986. President Diaz campaigned on a pledge to bring peace to the nation, torn as it was by war with the revolutionary Marxist FARC. In 1986, Diaz and the FARC signed a peace agreement, entering an era of "normalisation" as the FARC was brought in from the cold. In the same year, Diaz also withdrew Colombia from the United Nations. During this time, FARC leaders were granted legal immunity and the government turned a blind eye to its considerable narcotics related activities.

In the 1990 Congressional elections, President Diaz's Alternative Democratic Pole Party failed to gain an absolute majority and entered into a coalition with the FARC, resulting in several FARC's leaders taking positions in the national Council of Ministers. Inevitably, this was not taken well, neither in the UN nor among the Columbia's right and anti-Communist movements. At the UN, US President Jesse Ventura famously commented that "the NarcoReds have taken over Columbia."

Acting in direct support of the rebels with airpower and special forces, Diaz's government was toppled on the 1 May.



The FAE's F-45Ds of Escuadrón de Combates 2116 and 2117 were active throughout the campaign. When armed with GBU.12 LGBs 8as seen here), they worked with third-party laser designators, including ground-based designators and buddy-lasing with the FAE's own OV-10E Broncos (equipped with Pave Spike pods) and Mirage F.1s (using Atlis II pods). The Martin-Marietta ASQ-173 LST/SCAM carried on the starboard forward pylon was useful in detecting laser-marked targets. They also flew with unguided Mk.82 slick and Snakeye bombs and 2.75 inch rockets fired from LUA-3 pods. They also did some strafing with their two internally mounted 20mm M39 cannon. AIM-9L Sidewinders were carried on all combat missions and additional self-defense was provided by chaff/flare dispensers mounted under the aircraft's tail.



Note that this plane doesn't carry the air refueling probe usually seen on FAE F-45D Goshawks. This is because the FAE's Goshawk pilots were only qualified to tank from the nation's own KC-130Bs at the time of the Colombian intervention, which occurred at a time that one those tankers was in Argentina for overhaul and the other was undergoing repairs following a landing incident in November 1989. The refueling probes had been removed to save weight at the outbreak of hostilities but were attached again in mid-April when pilots became qualified to tank from a Brazilian KC-130H.



Fortunately for the FAE's Miarge pilots, the only time that the F-35Ds came close to air-to-air combat was when they made a distant radar contact with a Colombian Caribou transport, but were called-off the target by USAF AWACS controllers in favour of a shoot-down by a USAF F-15C. It later transpired that the 2 Mirage F.1EE pilots flying escort and another 2 flying sweep didn't establish radar contact with the Caribou throughout the incident.

[NARSES2]

Nice on mate 

[Dizzyfugu]

Nice, I like that a lot, esp. with the ordnance additions. Looks purposeful. 

[zenrat]

Nice one comrade.

[DogfighterZen]

Very cool model and story.

[chrisonord]

OOH yes, liking this, it is right up the street of my interest 
Chris.

[darthspud2]

very nice