Originally Posted by
Trigger
Super Tucano was my preference for a USAF Light Attack aircraft. Training other nations as part of foreign internal defense (FID) might cause a different plane to be a better choice. Light Attack had a few weaknesses. They worked well for insurgencies/COIN, but not for much else. Small payload, slow speed, limited maneuverability, limited self-protection suite. They are relatively cheap, and easy to train to fly.
That said, CAS is not an easy skill to learn. So no matter how easily you can teach a new pilot to fly it, it takes a bunch of skill and experience to learn how to drop ordnance on the enemy, and not hit the friendlies. When your teammates on the ground are dying, and screaming on the radio for help, you need the skill to do it right and do it quickly. I’ve been told by a ground commander (directly) that he would rather have his troops die by enemy fire than by friendly bombs dropped in error.
The problem with UAVs is it is difficult to see and understand the battlefield from a control station on the ground vice in the air overhead looking out the window. A difficult task (CAS) from the cockpit becomes even tougher with a UAV.