Austrian Air Force

Erik Prince loves Austria. Whether the feeling is mutual is unclear. A few years ago, there were reports that he had a residence in Burgenland. Now it seems he has provided development aid to an Austrian air force. No, not the Bundesheer's air force. Because as everyone knows, Erik is active in the private sector. The name "Blackwater" has shaped an entire industry. It's now called something else and Blackwater no longer exists. Especially not in Iraq. Erik Prince continues to be active, particularly in Africa, where his companies are said to mainly work for the Chinese. Now there seems to be a need for a cost-effective and efficient air force operating in the private sector:

This is what the aircraft looks like: the Thrush 501G (above) was supposed to be modified by Airborne Technologies from Wiener Neustadt for "more versatile" applications. As a reconnaissance aircraft, but also for combat missions with armored cockpits and sighting using EOTech (below). Someone must not have heard about this company's problems with their optics ...

As the Austrian newspaper "Der Standard" writes in their online edition on Monday - HERE is the LINK to the article - the founder and former head of Blackwater, Erik Prince, reportedly collaborated with the Wiener Neustadt-based company Airborne Technologies in 2014 to convert two Thrush-510 agricultural aircraft into "fully equipped combat aircraft." Originally intended for pest control, after the conversion they were able to spy on targets, attack them with rifle fire, or bomb them. "Der Standard" refers to research by the US investigative platform "The Intercept." Their documents can be viewed HERE. The entire article from "The Intercept" is HERE.

Illustration from the concept of operations.