Shortly after the fall of Saddam Hussein, the embryonic Republic of Kurdistan, recognizing that an air-to-ground attack aircraft capable of vertical take-off and landing in a desert environment would be vital to ROK defense.
It could be used against the various regional sectarian forces arrayed against the Kurdish homeland,
so they secretly developed the Saladin Mk. 1 (named after the famous Muslim commander, who was the native Kurd who recaptured the Holy Land from the Crusaders in the Middle Ages).
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The
aircraft borrowed heavily from the American A-10 aircraft design and technology,
being heavily-armored around the cockpit, built around two massive turbofan
engines located on opposite sides of the Saladin’s fuselage to prevent damage
from a hit on one engine spreading to both, and armed with a massive 30mm Vulcan
cannon. Potentially vulnerable wheels and tires were replaced with sturdy struts
and landing skids, each capable of “walking” the Saladin across broken
ground and sandy terrain.
