combat aircraft

COLOMBIAN

AC-47T SERIALS

(PROVIDED BY DANIËL MADRID)

FAC-1654 43-49031

FAC-1658 44-76209

FAC-1667 42-100589

FAC-1681 44-76916

FAC-1683 43-49876

FAC-1686 43-48182

Written o :

FAC-1650 (w/o 1988) 43-48240

FAC-1659 (w/o 2000) 44-76652

FAC-1670 (w/o 2009) 42-100662

was inaugurated the following year

and the unit’s commander, Maj Germán

Andrés Arias Cortés, says he hopes it will

soon be upgraded with the pilot’s gun

aiming sight to simulate the aircraft’s

 ring capabilities.

Six aircraft remain operational

within the FAC, and they continue to

be upgraded. The gunship’s  ghting

capability, in both day and night

operations, has been improved via

the  tting of a new nose-mounted,

second-generation, full-HD Star Sa re

electro-optical/infra-red FLIR sensor.

This features high-de nition color in low

light, while the pilots now wear ANVIS-9

night vision goggles.

The Colombian Air Force showed

‘Fantasma’ serial FAC-1652 during the

F-Air international Air Show at Rio Nergo

near Medellin in 2017, equipped with

a 30mm DEFA 552A cannon mounted

on the left of the GAU-19. The DEFA was

taken from a Dassault Mirage V that was

retired in 2010. It’s not clear if this was a

test or a new asset for the AC-47T  eet.

The future

Although a peace initiative brokered by

Colombia’s President Manuel Santos has

brought a reduction in hostilities, FARC

splinter factions continue to  ght. This

has actually led to renewed AC-47T anti-

guerrilla missions, which are ongoing.

These days, the Douglas/Basler AC-47T

is  own by pilots way younger then the

aircraft they operate. It may be long

in the tooth, but the ‘Fantasma’ is set

to continue showing its bite for a long

while to come.

— a group better known as FARC —

as well as the drug cartels. The bitter

battle turned increasingly violent and

the AC-47Ts became an even more

important weapon in the contested

Colombian territory.

In November 1998, for example, FARC

guerrillas attacked Mitú, the state capital

of the remote Vaupés region, causing

extensive damage and claiming many

lives. A single ‘Fantasma’ was soon over

the scene, helping the defenders turn

the tide. Other government aircraft,

including another two gunships, were

rushed to the area to help snu out

the violence.

Such operations have, unfortunately,

been quite commonplace during

Colombia’s internal con ict in which the

AC-47Ts have played a decisive role. The

guerrillas nicknamed the ‘Fantasma’ the

‘Marrana’ (pig), due to the screaming

sound of the powerful GAU-19 and

— for them — the shape and size

of the aircraft. However, losses have

followed, additional aircraft being lost in

2000 and 2009.

Training and maintenance

The ‘Fantasma’ pilot training school is

located at Base Aérea ‘Capitán Germán

Olano’ near Puerto Salgar, in the

country’s north-west. In addition to the

typical infrastructure associated with an

instructional unit, the station is home

to a bespoke AC-47  ight simulator

that was commissioned in 2016. The

Colombian-designed and built simulator

Below left to right:

The AC-47Ts are

among the oldest

aircraft in military

service anywhere

in the world.

The ‘Fantasma’

is equipped to

deploy decoy

fl ares for self-

protection.

FAC-1667 on short

fi nals to land at

Palanquero Air

Base.

This image: The

Magdalena River

down below as

an AC-47T heads

towards a jungle

target.

50

TYPE REPORT // AC-47T ‘FANTASMA’

44-51 Fantasma C.indd 50 22/06/2018 10:25