Dornier 328 C-146A Wolfhound

The C-146A is the clearest proof that the 328's useful life did not end with its commercial career. Twenty second-hand aircraft were bought and converted for the United States Air Force Special Operations Command, which needed to move small teams and cargo discreetly and with a light logistics footprint. The choice was not arbitrary: the 328 already came with reinforced landing gear on low-pressure tyres, a gravel guard and the ability to work from semi-prepared strips — exactly the profile such missions demand.

The conversion keeps the turboprop airframe — dimensions and maximum take-off weight are unchanged — and works on the cabin and systems instead: an interior reconfigurable for passengers, cargo or casualty evacuation, plus communications equipment and night-vision compatibility the civil aircraft never had.

On 24 February 2026 a C-146A landed on a bypass road at Laoac, in the province of Pangasinan, during a joint exercise between the Philippine armed forces and US special tactics teams. It was the first time an aircraft of the type had actually put down on a Philippine public highway, and the drill served to validate the use of selected roads as emergency runways and to train the local air force's combat controllers.

Operations like that explain why a 1990s regional twin remains on military inventory three decades on: it is not asked for speed or capacity, but for the ability to reach places with no airport.