Counterinsurgency aircraft was a concept that the United States began to employ during the conflict in Vietnam. As the U.S. military became more deeply involved in Vietnam in the early 1960s, there arose a need for a counterinsurgency (COIN) aircraft —something that could fly low to the ground and provide armed reconnaissance and even air escort for ground forces. It was a concept that had been pioneered during the colonial wars in Ethiopia and Iraq, but it was during the conflict in Vietnam that the United States began to employ a variety of small aircraft in similar roles. One of those planes was the T-37A “Tweet” trainer, a twin-engine jet used for training undergraduate pilots, as well as undergraduate navigator and tactical navigator students in the fundaments of aircraft handling and night flying. The U.S. Air Force evaluated two modified T-37 trainers, which were designated YAT-37Ds, to determine how they could fill the role of a COIN attack/reconnaissance aircraft. Dubbed the “Super Tweets,” the two aircraft were tested as part of the Combat Dragon program, where the YAT-37Ds flew in close air support, night interdiction and forward air control missions in South Vietnam and southern Laos.