The multi-mission General Dynamics Convair Model 48 Charger was a prototype for a light attack and observation aircraft designed and developed for the Vietnam War as one of its first counter-insurgency aircraft.The project was undertaken under extreme secrecy. In March of 1964, 30 engineers and production workers at the Convair facilities in San Diego, California, started working in a secluded area. That number would eventually increase to 200.When the top-secret project was finally unveiled, Convair announced it as a Light Armed Reconnaissance Aircraft, or LARA, to be used by the Marines, Army, and Air Force. Convair had anticipated the needs of the military early on, but competition from the North American Rockwell OV-10 Bronco became an unrelenting race to the skies.