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Originally posted by Johnmike
Originally posted by The Nighthawk
COunter INsurgency. Basically a weapon for asymmetrical warfare against less heavily-armed, unregimented opponents.
That makes me wonder, do you say it like "coin" or "co in"?
Originally posted by The NighthawkAnd yes, it is rather unsettling that a private company has been allowed to essentially raise its own army and begin its own air force. The Constitution actually forbids it...
Where?
The problem arises with private 'armies' ONLY when the federal government employes them in a capacity that is traditionally a military one. In THAT instance the private 'army' is UNCONSTITUTIONAL as the Constitution allows for ONLY such armies as it defines and gives authority over. The so-called unregulated militia notwithstanding.
There is a very real probability that George Bush as Commander in Chief by authorizing the use of a private 'army' in combat is in serioous violation of the Constitution. The framers were very careful in their wording as regards military matters. For good reason they knew the dangers that would be posed if a President or other high official maintained a private army.
One last thing, the fact that the Executive Branch IS maintaining a private army under the auspices of its office, is the fact that federal revenues are paying these people AND the private armies are NOT answerable to Congress, which has sole control over such expenditures.
The aircraft features two .50" machine guns (200 rounds each) in the wings. Five hard points under the wing and fuselage allow up to 1,500 kg of weapons for most configurations. The aircraft's inboard stations, as well as its ventral one, are "wet" for external fuel tanks.
In addition to its two internal machine guns, the Super Tucano can be configured with additional underwing armament, such as two 20mm gun pods or .50" machine guns, thereby significantly increasing its firepower for missions requiring air-to-ground saturation. ternal stores on 5 hardpoints
Outboard stations allow the loading and firing of short-range air-air missiles of the AIM-9 class.
All stations can be loaded with the Mk 81 or Mk 82 (conventional or equipped with guidance kits) bombs, SBAT-70/19 or LAU-68 rocket launchers.