Can Vietnam's DHC-6 seaplane carry anti-ship missiles?
Thanks to being equipped with EL/M-2022A radar and MiniPOP electro-optical system, Vietnam's DHC-6 seaplane can identify sea surface targets quite accurately.
Currently, the Vietnam Navy Air Force has a fleet of 6 DHC-6-400 Twin Otter amphibious seaplanes, each worth 5.6 million USD, manufactured by the Canadian company Viking Air.
The DHC-6-400 Twin Otter has a maximum takeoff weight of 5,670 kg and can carry 19 people.
The theoretical service ceiling is 7,620 m while the practical service ceiling is 7,431 m. The maximum clock speed at 2,000 m is 307 km/h and the maximum flight time is 6 hours 51 minutes.
This amphibious seaplane can be configured to take off and land normally on a runway or equipped with a floating kit to be able to take off and land on water and on land airports like a non-floating aircraft.
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| DHC-6-400 Twin Otter amphibious seaplane of the Vietnam Navy Air Force. |
However, the most notable equipment on Vietnam's DHC-6 seaplane is the EL/M-2022A maritime surveillance radar system along with the MiniPOP optical-electrical-infrared sensor complex.
The EL/M-2022A radar is capable of simultaneously scanning and tracking up to 256 targets at sea with performance that has been rated as "excellent", a maritime surveillance range of up to 200 nautical miles, emphasizing characteristics equivalent to the EL/M-2032 fire control radar (equipped for many current fighter aircraft), allowing operation in air-to-air mode.
In addition, MiniPOP is a high-resolution day/night observation system, providing real-time images, the ability to automatically record images of targets, and locate targets with high accuracy for small-sized attack platforms such as drones, armored vehicles, unmanned ground vehicles and naval warships, playing an active supporting role for the EL/M-2022A radar.
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| Close-up of EL/M-2022A radar on Vietnam's DHC-6-400 seaplane. |
Thus, with the above equipment, the maritime surveillance capability of the DHC-6-400 Twin Otter seaplane is not inferior to the most modern air-to-sea combat aircraft, it is only inferior in the weapons it carries.
But in the future, according to weapons experts, if necessary, it is entirely possible to add wing mounts to this DHC-6-400 to integrate anti-ship missiles of the Kh-35 Uran-E or KCT-15 type, self-made by Vietnam.
When equipped with weapons, the DHC-6-400 Twin Otter will "transform" into an extremely powerful air attack vehicle of Vietnam, playing a good supporting role for Su-30MK2 or Su-22M3/M4 fighters in air-to-sea combat.
