Fletcher FD-25 (Defender)

COunter-INsurgency (COIN) Aircraft

United States | 1953

"Fewer than twenty total examples greeted the Fletcher FD-25 COIN aircraft project of the 1950s."

Authored By: Staff Writer | Last Edited: 02/08/2020 | Content ©www.MilitaryFactory.com | The following text is exclusive to this site; No A.I. was used in the generation of this content.

"COinter-INsurgency" ("COIN") aircraft are a specialized breed of warplane designed to attack and contain insurgent/guerilla forces. This generally defines an airframe capable of long loitering times with inherently excellent low-altitude, low-speed controlling. During the 1950s and 1960s, there proved a need for such aircraft for the various low-level conflicts emerging across the globe after World War 2 (1939-1945). During this period, the Fletcher FD-25 "Defender" was developed by one John Willard Thorp (1912-1992), an aerospace engineer with extensive experience in light and very-light aircraft.

While it failed to impress the United States military, it went on to see limited sales to foreign parties in Cambodia (6) and Vietnam (4) by way of Japan-based Toyo - the company having purchased the rights to the American aircraft. Cambodia took on three single-seat attackers along with three twin-seat trainer variants.

The FD-25 development phase constituted three total prototype forms of which a pair was built to the basic single-seat standard. The third offering became a twin-seat derivative. The aircraft flew for the first time in 1953 and, true to form, was a lightweight, single-seat, single-engine platform with low-mounted straight mainplanes and a conventional tri-plane tail unit (single rudder). The undercarriage remained fixed during flight and was of the "tail-dragger" configuration. At center mass of the aircraft was the single-seat cockpit under a clear view canopy offering excellent vision. Construction of the warplane was largely of metal.

Dimensions of the light aircraft included a running length of 20.10 feet, a wingspan measuring 30 feet, and a height of 6.2 feet. Empty weight reached 1,230lb against an gross weight near 2,500lb.

Each wing mainplane was given four weapons hardpoints to which various air-launched and air-dropped munitions could be affixed, as well as fuel tanks to increase operational ranges. Typical supported stores included 2 x 250lb conventional drop bombs and air-launched rockets of various caliber - 4 x 127mm, 20 x 80mm, or 40 x 70mm. The mainplanes were also home to 2 x 7.62mm machine guns embedded in each member, these in fixed, forward-firing mountings.

Performance was handled by a single Continental E-225-8 series 6-cylinder air-cooled piston engine developing 225 horsepower and driving a two-bladed propeller unit at the nose. Specifications included a maximum speed of 190 miles-per-hour, a cruising speed near 160mph, a range out to 630 miles, and a service ceiling up to 16,500 feet. Rate-of-climb reached 1,725 feet-per-minute.

Including the aforementioned prototypes, just thirteen FD-25 Defender aircraft were completed in all.

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Power & Performance
Those special qualities that separate one aircraft design from another. Performance specifications presented assume optimal operating conditions for the Fletcher FD-25 COunter-INsurgency (COIN) Aircraft.

1 x Continental E-225-8 air-cooled, 6-cylinder engine developing 225 horsepower and driving a two-bladed propeller unit at the nose in puller fashion.
Propulsion

186 mph
300 kph | 162 kts
Max Speed

16,404 ft
5,000 m | 3 miles
Service Ceiling

621 miles
1,000 km | 540 nm
Operational Range

1,725 ft/min
526 m/min
Rate-of-Climb

City-to-City Ranges
Operational range when compared to distances between major cities (in KM).

NYC

LON

PAR

BER

MOS

TOK

SYD

LAX

NYC

Structure
The nose-to-tail, wingtip-to-wingtip physical qualities of the Fletcher FD-25 COunter-INsurgency (COIN) Aircraft.

1
(MANNED)
Crew

20.9 ft
6.38 m
O/A Length

30.0 ft
(9.15 m)
O/A Width

6.3 ft
(1.91 m)
O/A Height

1,235 lb
(560 kg)
Empty Weight

2,502 lb
(1,135 kg)
MTOW

Design Balance
The three qualities reflected below are altitude, speed, and range. The more full the box, the more balanced the design.

RANGE

ALT

SPEED

Armament
Available supported armament and special-mission equipment featured in the design of the Fletcher FD-25 (Defender) COunter-INsurgency (COIN) Aircraft .

STANDARD (Fixed, Forward-Firing):
2 x 7.62mm machine guns in wings.

OPTIONAL (Mission-Specific, All Held Underwing):
40 x 2.75" rockets.
20 x 3.15" rockets.
4 x 5" rockets.

Up to 2 x 250lb conventional drop bombs. Also supported were 2 x External fuel tanks at inboard-most weapon station.

Variants
Notable series variants as part of the Fletcher FD-25 (Defender) family line.

FD-25 "Defender" - Base Series Designation; three prototypes (two single-seaters and one twin-seater) completed followed by twelve aircraft manufactured by Toyo of Japan.

Operators
Global customers who have evaluated and/or operated the Fletcher FD-25 (Defender). Nations are displayed by flag, each linked to their respective national aircraft listing.

Total Production: 13 Units
Contractor(s): Fletcher Aviation Corporation - USA / Toyo - Japan

[ Cambodia; Vietnam ]

Relative Max Speed

Hi: 200mph

Lo: 100mph

Aircraft Max Listed Speed (186mph).

Graph Average of 150 MPH.

Era Crossover

Showcasing Aircraft Era Crossover (if any)

Max Alt Visualization

Production Comparison

13

36183

44000

Entry compared against Ilyushin IL-2 (military) and Cessna 172 (civilian) total production.

MACH Regime (Sonic)

Sub

Trans

Super

Hyper

HiHyper

ReEntry

♦

Aviation Timeline

EarlyYrs

WWI

Interwar

WWII

ColdWar

Postwar

Modern

Future

♦

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Image from the Public Domain.

Mission Roles
Some designs are single-minded in their approach while others offer a more versatile solution to airborne requirements.

GROUND ATTACK

CLOSE-AIR SUPPORT

RECONNAISSANCE

X-PLANE

Recognition
Some designs stand the test of time while others are doomed to never advance beyond the drawing board; let history be their judge.

Going Further...
The Fletcher FD-25 (Defender) COunter-INsurgency (COIN) Aircraft appears in the following collections:

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