Fairchild AU-23 Peacemaker

The Fairchild AU-23 Peacemaker was an armed fixed-wing counter-insurgency and utility transport aircraft, a licence-built derivative of the Swiss Pilatus PC-6 Porter produced by Fairchild Industries. It originated in the Credible Chase program that the Aeronautical Systems Division began in May 1971 to find a capable armed light utility aircraft for the Vietnam War, in which the PC-6 was evaluated against the Helio AU-24 Stallion by American, Thai and South Vietnamese personnel. Work was halted when extensive upgrades were judged necessary for front-line combat. The remaining 34 aircraft were stored and then sold to the Royal Thai Air Force, which flew them on border surveillance and counter-insurgency tasks into the twenty-first century. Its power came from a single Garrett TPE-331 turboprop.