Hi guys!
Recently read a blog about how our troops in Afghanistan really need a long loitering, cheap light aircraft (wow, mouthful!) to act as FAC / radio relay, instead of uber expensive helicopters, and drones that crash most of the time ( don't laugh, I've seen the crash reports in AFM!!
So, I got to thinking, maybe something like a modernised version of the old Air Observation Posts that the Army Air Corps used to use, with a bit of light attack / COIN aircraft thrown in?
Then, I thought a a bit more: how about if it could be powered by a Diesel engine? At a stroke, that alleviates all sorts of logistical and maintenance issues.
Then I thought, Airbus Military used to be EADS, which bought out CASA, which in turn bought out Hispano. Now they had the license to build the Bf 109, so they would have the design somewhere(!) What If! they dusted off the Bf 109 plans, and modified them for the AOP role?
So, here we go for a start: