Latest news with #SkyraiderII
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
We got an up-close look at the new Skyraider II special operations light attack plane that maker L3Harris says can land almost anywhere
L3Harris showed off its new light attack airplane that it says can land almost anywhere. The Sky Warden, or Skyraider II, was on display at SOF Week in Tampa, Florida. BI got up close with the Sky Warden and took photos of this new aircraft. US Air Force Special Operations Command got its first mission-ready Skyraider II attack plane last month, and this week, Business Insider got an up-close look at the new light attack plane at SOF Week 2025 in Tampa, Florida. Air Tractor and L3Harris' AT-802U Sky Warden, designated the OA-1K Skyraider II by AFSOC in reference to the A-1 Skyraiders of the Korean and Vietnam wars, is an armed intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance, close-air support, and strike aircraft that L3Harris says can land almost anywhere. The new light attack aircraft is a militarized variant of the Air Tractor AT-802 long used for civilian work like agriculture. Here's what it looks like: The Air Force describes the Skyraider II as a flexible aircraft that can be adjusted for different missions and fights, noting that it has a much more manageable maintenance demand and a lower cost per flight hour than other AFSOC aircraft. Like its legendary predecessor, the new Skyraider was built for armed overwatch and attack in permissive environments, though the battlespace is not what it once was, and there are questions about its role in a high-intensity fight in the Indo-Pacific. Jon Rambeau, the president of integrated mission systems at L3Harris, said the Sky Warden is a "versatile" platform and "costs a fraction of what you might pay for a fighter jet." Just how much the planes cost is a detail that isn't publicly available. Rambeau and Clint Logwood, L3Harris' director of flight tests and flight operations, said one of Skyraider II's most important attributes is its ability to operate in different environments. It can also land just about anywhere with a limited logistics footprint. "This thing could land anywhere," Logwood said, from rugged and remote airfields to highways. The Air Force has prioritized flexibility, specifically the ability to operate in austere environments and off of unconventional runways like roadways. Fixed airfields and bases are easy targets, especially in the Indo-Pacific where US forces have to contend with China's growing missile force, but an adversary can't target every piece of concrete in the region. Logwood, who has put many hours of testing the aircraft's capabilities, G-force, speed, temperature, and altitude, said: "We have landed this aircraft on some fields that would jar your teeth, and this aircraft just says, 'That's all you got?'" The Sky Warden has "plug and play technology," he said. It has a modular design, which means new systems can be quickly integrated into the aircraft. There are ten hardpoints capable of carrying a range of weapons and other technologies. While there are two seats in the Sky Warden, it's a single-pilot aircraft in which all of its systems are designed to be accessible by one person and easy to learn. And its cost-per-hour of flight, Rambeau said, is less than $1,000 per hour, one of the cheaper cost estimates of the Air Force's fleet. He added that L3Harris was in conversation with potential international customers across the world as well. Below the wings of the Sky Warden, Logwood noted, were its dummy AGM 114 Hellfire missiles, as well as ISR sensors and arrays. If another mission pod is needed, it can be bolted and connected to the plane. The Sky Warden can be dissembled in under six hours and fit inside a C-17 cargo aircraft. The program was originally contracted for 75 aircraft in a $3 billion deal; in 2023 and 2024, the Government Accountability Office issued reports urging the Pentagon to reconsider the number of aircraft needed, citing concerns the program wouldn't be as valuable as the US shifts from decades of counterterrorism operations featuring air superiority to near-peer adversary fights. Rambeau cited the aircraft's potential international sales as examples "to dispel the thought that this is only applicable for counterinsurgency," saying that those customers were looking at the aircraft for a variety of purposes. While Sky Warden is capable of taking off and landing almost anywhere, Rambeau and Logwood said it would need to be modified for carrier-based operations. The aircraft requires a distance of about 1,200 feet. For fighters and bombers, the required runway length tends to be thousands of feet. The original Skyraider earned its legendary reputation by protecting downed airmen in Vietnam. Unlike jets that couldn't stay in the area, the Skyraiders could loiter for long periods of time and bring massive firepower for continuous suppressing fire until helicopters could come in for rescue operations. Skyraider pilot Maj. Bernard Fisher famously landed his plane through withering enemy fire at a battle-scarred airstrip littered with debris and destroyed aircraft, rescued a downed airman, and flew back out after taking multiple hits to his aircraft during a 1966 fight at Ashau. Fisher received the Medal of Honor for his actions. The Air Force is hoping the new Skyraiders will provide the same kind of exceptional support for troops in future fights. Read the original article on Business Insider
Business Insider
09-05-2025
- Business
- Business Insider
We got an up-close look at the new Skyraider II light attack plane that maker L3Harris says can land almost anywhere
US Air Force Special Operations Command got its first mission-ready Skyraider II attack plane last month, and this week, Business Insider got an up-close look at the new light attack plane at SOF Week 2025 in Tampa, Florida. Air Tractor and L3Harris' AT-802U Sky Warden, designated the OA-1K Skyraider II by AFSOC in reference to the A-1 Skyraiders of the Korean and Vietnam wars, is an armed intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance, close-air support, and strike aircraft that L3Harris says can land almost anywhere. The new light attack aircraft is a militarized variant of the Air Tractor AT-802 long used for civilian work like agriculture. Here's what it looks like: The Air Force describes the Skyraider II as a flexible aircraft that can be adjusted for different missions and fights, noting that it has a much more manageable maintenance demand and a lower cost per flight hour than other AFSOC aircraft. Like its legendary predecessor, the new Skyraider was built for armed overwatch and attack in permissive environments, though the battlespace is not what it once was, and there are questions about its role in a high-intensity fight in the Indo-Pacific. Jon Rambeau, the president of integrated mission systems at L3Harris, said the Sky Warden is a "versatile" platform and "costs a fraction of what you might pay for a fighter jet." Just how much the planes cost is a detail that isn't publicly available. Rambeau and Clint Logwood, L3Harris' director of flight tests and flight operations, said one of Skyraider II's most important attributes is its ability to operate in different environments. It can also land just about anywhere with a limited logistics footprint. "This thing could land anywhere," Logwood said, from rugged and remote airfields to highways. The Air Force has prioritized flexibility, specifically the ability to operate in austere environments and off of unconventional runways like roadways. Fixed airfields and bases are easy targets, especially in the Indo-Pacific where US forces have to contend with China's growing missile force, but an adversary can't target every piece of concrete in the region. Logwood, who has put many hours of testing the aircraft's capabilities, G-force, speed, temperature, and altitude, said: "We have landed this aircraft on some fields that would jar your teeth, and this aircraft just says, 'That's all you got?'" The Sky Warden has "plug and play technology," he said. It has a modular design, which means new systems can be quickly integrated into the aircraft. There are ten hardpoints capable of carrying a range of weapons and other technologies. While there are two seats in the Sky Warden, it's a single-pilot aircraft in which all of its systems are designed to be accessible by one person and easy to learn. And its cost-per-hour of flight, Rambeau said, is less than $1,000 per hour, one of the cheaper cost estimates of the Air Force's fleet. He added that L3Harris was in conversation with potential international customers across the world as well. Below the wings of the Sky Warden, Logwood noted, were its dummy AGM 114 Hellfire missiles, as well as ISR sensors and arrays. If another mission pod is needed, it can be bolted and connected to the plane. The Sky Warden can be dissembled in under six hours and fit inside a C-17 cargo aircraft. The program was originally contracted for 75 aircraft in a $3 billion deal; in 2023 and 2024, the Government Accountability Office issued reports urging the Pentagon to reconsider the number of aircraft needed, citing concerns the program wouldn't be as valuable as the US shifts from decades of counterterrorism operations featuring air superiority to near-peer adversary fights. Rambeau cited the aircraft's potential international sales as examples "to dispel the thought that this is only applicable for counterinsurgency," saying that those customers were looking at the aircraft for a variety of purposes. While Sky Warden is capable of taking off and landing almost anywhere, Rambeau and Logwood said it would need to be modified for carrier-based operations. The aircraft requires a distance of about 1,200 feet. For fighters and bombers, the required runway length tends to be thousands of feet. The original Skyraider earned its legendary reputation by protecting downed airmen in Vietnam. Unlike jets that couldn't stay in the area, the Skyraiders could loiter for long periods of time and bring massive firepower for continuous suppressing fire until helicopters could come in for rescue operations. Skyraider pilot Maj. Bernard Fisher famously landed his plane through withering enemy fire at a battle-scarred airstrip littered with debris and destroyed aircraft, rescued a downed airman, and flew back out after taking multiple hits to his aircraft during a 1966 fight at Ashau. Fisher received the Medal of Honor for his actions. The Air Force is hoping the new Skyraiders will provide the same kind of exceptional support for troops in future fights.
Yahoo
06-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Can The OA-1K Skryraider II Actually Be Useful In A Pacific Fight?
Questions about the future of the U.S. Air Force's new OA-1K Skyraider II continue to swirl amid an ongoing shift toward preparing for potential peer conflicts and away from counter-insurgency and other low-intensity operations for which the special operations light attack aircraft was originally envisioned. Whether or not the program could be axed as part of a Pentagon-wide realignment of priorities under President Donald Trump is now also a topic of great interest. A high-ranking Air Force official recently talked at length about the OA-1K, including what roles it could play in a future high-end fight in the Pacific, with TWZ's Howard Altman, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss planning issues. Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC) took delivery of the first Skyraider II in April and expects to eventually receive 75 of the aircraft in total. The two-seat, single-engine turboprop's official nickname, which is a callback to the famed A-1 Skyraider that U.S. forces flew during the Korean and Vietnam Wars, was announced in February. 'The way that the OA-1K will look on day one is not how probably the OA-1K will look on day 1,000,' the Air Force official said. 'As we field it, it will continue to iterate based on the requirements that our supported forces articulate to us. We're intimately involved with all of those forces, even as we speak, on shaping the initial and then also the growing requirements that I'm sure that we will find for that platform going forward.' The OA-1K 'was designed to be very flexible. A big element of the platform is, again, this notion of modularity, [and] open systems architecture,' they continued. 'What that does for us is, on a given mission, you might put certain types of capabilities [on the aircraft] – those could be ISR [intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance] capabilities, … strike capabilities – you may have more of one than the other, depending on the day or the mission requirement of the supported force. But then the next day, that may change, and you can rapidly swap out what the capabilities are of the platform on a given mission.' The original core vision for the OA-1K was an aircraft capable of performing close air support, armed overwatch, and ISR missions, primarily in support of special operations forces, and while operating in permissive airspace. SOCOM's Armed Overwatch program, which resulted in the Skyraider II, kicked off in 2020, but leveraged many years of other abortive light attack aircraft programs and related test and evaluation efforts that had been heavily driven by the demands of the Global War on Terror (GWOT) era. Another key goal for the Armed Overwatch program was to help free up tactical combat jets, bombers, and other aircraft that had been employed in these roles in countries like Afghanistan and Iraq for more demanding and/or higher-priority missions, as well as reduce costly wear and tear on those platforms from constant and of short-endurance sorties. A light attack aircraft like the OA-1K would also have the benefit of being able to be pushed forward with a minimal logistics footprint to far-flung locations, even ones with next to no infrastructure. This, in turn, would put them closer to operating areas, reducing travel time and increasing on-station availability, all without the need for already heavily in-demand tanker support. However, the SOCOM selected the OA-1K as the winner of the Armed Overwatch competition in 2022, by which time the U.S. military had withdrawn from Afghanistan and the larger pivot to preparing for high-end operations, with a particular eye toward the Pacific, was in full swing. U.S. forces expect to face increasingly far more capable and longer-ranged air defenses in any large-scale conflict, especially in the region against China. The Air Force has explicitly warned about the potential threat of anti-air missiles able to reach targets up to 1,000 miles away emerging in the coming decades. This, in turn, has already called into question the relevance of the Skyraider II, as well as other special operations aircraft more tailored toward lower-end contingencies. So 'how could we support them [friendly forces] if it's in the Pacific or anywhere else? The OA-1K certainly has some roles and missions that can [provide] support there. And then in a large-scale combat operation, we are looking at, in partnership with other components of SOCOM [U.S. Special Operations Command], what are some of the things that it could do,' they added. 'Can it employ air-launched effects, at range, at standoff, in a flexible way that would provide value?' 'Launched effect' is a catch-all that the U.S. military uses to refer broadly to uncrewed aerial systems that can be launched from air, ground, and maritime platforms, and be configured as one-way attackers or to perform other non-kinetic missions, including electronic warfare, ISR, and signal relay. The term reflects increasingly blurry lines between multiple categories of aerial systems, especially traditional cruise missiles and long-range kamikaze drones. The Air Force official that TWZ spoke to did not elaborate on what kinds of 'launched effects' the OA-1K might carry in the future, but there is a growing array of relevant designs already in various stages of development within the U.S. military, as well as by private industry. SOCOM also has a Small Cruise Missile (SCM) program, primarily intended to provide new standoff strike capability for the AC-130J Ghostrider gunship, but that could be applicable to other platforms like the Skyraider II. The AC-130J is another AFSOC platform facing questions about its relevance in future high-end fights. In 2023, L3Harris, the prime contractor for the Skyraider II, also said it had modeled potential loadouts for the aircraft that included AGM-84 Harpoons and AGM-158B Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile-Extended Ranges (JASSM-ER), according to National Defense Magazine. The AGM-84 and AGM-158B are traditional air-launched anti-ship and land-attack cruise missiles, respectively. L3Harris had also done that modeling work independently of its contracts with SOCOM. The aforementioned SCM program and others like it within the U.S. military are also heavily focused on offering lower-cost alternatives to munitions like the Harpoon and JASSM-ER. L3Harris has put forward GBU-39/B Small Diameter Bombs (SDB) and GBU-53/B StormBreakers, also known as Small Diameter Bomb IIs (SDB II), as potential future armament options for the OA-1K. The GBU-39/B and GBU-53/B both offer a degree of standoff capability, and the ability to engage static and moving targets over dozens of miles. Otherwise, the prospective loadouts that have been put forward for the OA-1K to date align with the original lower-intensity mission focus and center on a mix of non-standoff precision munitions. These include AGM-114 Hellfire missiles, Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System II (APKWS II) laser-guided 70mm rockets, and 500-pound GBU-12 laser-guided bombs. Pods to allow the Skyraider II to launch stores from Common Launch Tubes (CLT), which could include precision-guided missiles and bombs, as well as air-launched drones, have been put forward, as well. The OA-1K will also be able to carry podded sensor systems. For the Skyraider II, launched effects with standoff range could open up additional possibilities when it comes to operational employment of the aircraft. 'The next point that I would make there is that's where we start to get into things like Adaptive Airborne Enterprise. We get into enhanced precision effects,' the Air Force official we talked to said in response to a question regarding the future of the AC-130J that they also said was relevant to the OA-1K. 'So this is where we start talking about our platforms. And we are putting capabilities on them that now make them more flexible and enable them to provide support to the joint force and SOF [special operations forces] … in a number of environments.' Adaptive Airborne Enterprise (A2E) is an overarching term for concepts of operations that AFSOC has been refining for some years now that focus on increasing deployability by reducing personnel and logistics footprints, as well as the collaborative employment of capabilities. A2E work so far has focused heavily on the MQ-9 Reaper drone, but the Air Force has made clear in the past that the concept extends to other aerial platforms, crewed and uncrewed, as well as friendly ground and maritime forces. Another key element of A2E has been exploring how capabilities can be employed across areas of increasing risk, as highlighted in the graphic below. This is particularly relevant for a platform like the OA-1K, which could deploy launched effects from permissive airspace, but to support operations in adjacent higher-risk areas. Skyraider IIs could potentially be pushed to forward operating locations where they could conduct similar operations from within the bubble of friendly defenses. Similar concepts of operations have been put forward by the U.S. Army and other branches of the U.S. military in recent years with a particular eye toward ensuring the relevance of less survivable platforms in higher-end conflicts. The OA-1K's deployability and small operational footprint could help make it difficult for enemy forces to target, in general. The aircraft might also be useful for providing more localized force protection and surveillance around forward operating locations like island outposts, which could include counter-drone patrols. In particular, the APKWS II rockets that are expected to be in the Skyraider II's arsenal are already proving themselves to be valuable air-to-air weapons against drones, and their capabilities in this regard are set to expand further. U.S. Fighter aircraft shoot down Iran-backed Houthi one-way-attack drones with AGR-20 FALCO Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System (APKWS) Laser Guided 2.75" Rockets.#HouthisAreTerrorists — U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) March 19, 2025 The high-ranking Air Force official also stressed to TWZ that SOCOM and AFSOC still expect to be tasked with the kinds of lower-intensity missions and crisis response scenarios in environments with more permissive airspace that led to the acquisition of the OA-1K in the first place. 'We still have this requirement on the SOCOM side of the house to do counter-terrorism, crisis response, counter-VEO ['violent extremist organization missions]. And really, that was the notion of the OA-1K originally, [it] was a cost-effective platform in the counter-violent extremism environment,' they said. 'So that still is a relevant mission set.' They also highlighted how continuing to engage with allies and partners in the Pacific region on lower-intensity fights where the OA-1K is relevant remains an important way of building military-to-military relationships that could extend into a future major conflict. 'Now you start to think about competition and building relationships with allies and partners. And there's all the lead-up to something someday, where there's just this notion of strengthening relationships,' they explained. 'How do you train with partner nations? Many of them still have their own counter-VEO concerns, they also have their own counter-terrorism/crisis response concerns. How could we support them if it's in the Pacific or anywhere else?' The Air Force has also raised the possibility of utilizing OA-1K's closer to home, including in support of border security missions. Since January, President Donald Trump's administration has significantly expanded U.S. military support to civilian law enforcement agencies along the southern border with Mexico, as well as surrounding bodies of water. The Skyraider II would offer a lower-cost alternative to the MQ-9 Reapers that have been supporting those operations, as well as augment higher-end ISR platforms now in use, or even supplant them in more limited ways. They could also supplement U.S. Customs and Border Protection ISR aircraft. There are additional questions surrounding the OA-1K beyond just AFSOC plans to employ the aircraft. The Air Force's stated plan is to leverage personnel and other resources from the divestment of U-28A Draco and MC-12 turboprop-powered crewed ISR aircraft to help field the Skyraider II. At the same time, the service, along with SOCOM, insists that the OA-1K is not intended as a direct replacement for those aircraft. SOCOM and AFSOC have faced criticism, including from the Government Accountability Office (GAO), a Congressional watchdog, over how these force structure decisions were made and the potential for resulting gaps in ISR capacity. 'Right now, our focus, really, at this point, is ensuring that the OA-1K is on time,' the Air Force official told us when asked about any plans for a more direct replacement for the U-28As and MC-12s. The Pentagon's top leadership under President Trump is also promising a major realignment of priorities in the proposed defense budget for the 2026 Fiscal Year. This is already having major impacts on various programs, especially within the U.S. Army, and other efforts across the services could be staring down major cuts, if not outright cancellation. 'I really don't have any info for you there,' the Air Force official told us when asked about any concerns that the OA-1K could be on the chopping block, especially over questions about its future relevance in high-end conflicts. 'I, frankly, don't know, and I don't have any indication that the program is going to get canceled. We've got our birds that continue to deliver. We're focused on, how do we get the crews trained? How do we get it outfitted to be able to make its first push down range to meet SOCOM requirements? And, you know, there's all kinds of speculation about budgets and whatnot out there, but right now, our focus is really not on that. It's about fielding the combat capability.' In the meantime, the Air Force is looking at launched effects with standoff range and other new capabilities, as well as concepts of operations to go with them, as potential paths to help keep its new OA-1K light attack aircraft relevant in various contexts going forward. Contact the author: joe@
Yahoo
05-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
L3Harris Supplies First Skyraider II Military Jet to U.S. Air Force
L3Harris Technologies, Inc. LHX, along with Air Tractor, a top producer of purpose-built aircraft, has made the delivery of the first missionized OA-1K Skyraider II aircraft to the U.S. Air Force Special Operations Command. This should boost LHX's first-quarter 2025 revenue Skyraider II is an example of L3Harris' dedication to providing flexible, affordable solutions that satisfy the changing demands of aerial warfighter. The Skyraider II is based on L3Harris' multi-purpose OA-1 Sky Warden aircraft, which can be configured to perform a wide range of missions, including close air support, precision strikes and armed intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance, for the United States and allied aircraft's versatility will enable SOF to counter rivals throughout the whole spectrum of military operations. The aircraft's design allows it to operate from difficult and isolated features might attract more customers to select this aircraft, thereby ushering in contract flows for L3Harris. Notably, the company is on track to deliver more follow-on Skyraider II aircraft. Rising military conflicts, terrorism and border disputes, along with rapid technological advancements in combat jets, have led nations to increase their defense spending on combat-proven jets, which constitute an integral part of their defense structure. This is likely to have prompted the Mordor Intelligence firm to forecast a compound annual growth rate of 4.7% for the global military aviation market in solid market growth opportunities should benefit L3Harris, which is a major supplier of innovative, dependable and cost-effective avionic systems and equipment that have been tested on a wide range of aircraft platforms, including the F-35 Lightning II and F/A-18 Super Hornet. The company also offers more than 35 years of cutting-edge mission system processing and networking capabilities to integrated core processors for fighter jets. Other defense companies that are likely to reap the benefits of the strength in the global military aviation market are listed below:The Boeing Company BA: The company offers a comprehensive portfolio of the most advanced aircraft in the combat market, which includes F/A-18 Super Hornet, F-15EX, CH-47 Chinook, Chinook Block II and EA-18G boasts a long-term (three to five years) earnings growth rate of 17.4%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for BA's 2025 sales suggests an improvement of 25.7% from the 2024 reported Martin Corp. LMT: The company is among the leaders in the combat aircraft space, with its product portfolio constituting some of the most advanced military aircraft, such as the F-35 Lightning II, F-21, F-22 Raptor and F-16 Fighting boasts a long-term earnings growth rate of 10.6%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for LMT's 2025 sales implies an improvement of 4.6% from the 2024 reported S.A. ERJ: The company offers a comprehensive portfolio of the most advanced aircraft in the combat market, which includes the A-29 Super Tucano, P600 AEW&C and the C-390 Millennium military multi-mission Zacks Consensus Estimate for ERJ's 2025 sales indicates growth of 15.1% from the prior-year reported number. The company delivered an average earnings surprise of 138.39% in the last four quarters. In the past three months, L3Harris shares have risen 2.8% compared with the industry's growth of 12.2%. Image Source: Zacks Investment Research LHX currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report The Boeing Company (BA) : Free Stock Analysis Report Lockheed Martin Corporation (LMT) : Free Stock Analysis Report Embraer-Empresa Brasileira de Aeronautica (ERJ) : Free Stock Analysis Report L3Harris Technologies Inc (LHX) : Free Stock Analysis Report This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research ( Zacks Investment Research Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
03-04-2025
- Yahoo
First OA-1K Skyraider II Handed Over To Air Force Special Operations Command
The first OA-1K light attack aircraft — recently officially named as the Skyraider II — has been delivered to Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC). While the command welcomed the militarized derivative of the popular Air Tractor AT-802 crop duster, there remain serious questions about how the Air Force will actually make use of the OA-1K, as the service increasingly prepares for future high-end contingencies. Air Force Special Operations Command announced today that it had officially received a first missionized OA-1K at Hurlburt Field, Florida. The handover ceremony was attended by Special Operations Command representatives, AFSOC leadership, elected officials, and community leaders. Also in attendance was retired Lt. Col. Bill Buice, an A-1 Skyraider pilot and Vietnam War veteran. In this previous story, you can read how the name of the original Skyraider was passed over to the OA-1K. As we have discussed in the past, the two-seat, turboprop-powered OA-1K can carry up to 6,000 pounds of munitions and other stores, including precision-guided missiles and bombs and podded sensor systems, on up to eight underwing pylons. According to the manufacturer, the OA-1K can fly out to an area up to 200 miles away and loiter there for up to six hours with a typical combat load. Once there, it can conduct its mission aided by a 'robust suite of radios and datalinks providing multiple means for line-of-sight (LOS) and beyond line-of-sight (BLOS) communications.' In a media release, AFSOC described today's delivery as marking 'the start of a new era in aircraft modularity.' The command noted that the OA-1K 'can adapt capabilities for required mission sets, be it close air support, precision strike, or armed intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance. Its flexibility ensures AFSOC can meet the needs set forth by the Secretary of Defense and the President.' 'Skyraider II represents not just a new platform, but a modular solution to our national security needs,' added Lt. Gen. Michael Conley, AFSOC commander, speaking at the ceremony today. 'It will redefine how we approach joint campaigning, crisis response, and the evolving landscape of modern warfare.' AFSOC's release pointed to the fact that the OA-1K is based on a proven aircraft platform, the AT-802, and that it requires a much smaller maintenance package and provides lower operating costs than other conventional or special operations aircraft. The command also made efforts to stress the relevance of the OA-1K in missions other than counterinsurgency and other low-intensity warfare scenarios for which it was originally envisaged. 'The Skyraider II is a dynamic aircraft that will allow operators to adjust effects quickly for required missions and create dilemmas for our adversaries across the spectrum of armed conflict,' the command said. 'The Skyraider II aims at delivering options in a new era of strategic competition, which requires adaptiveness,' it added. While it's not exactly clear how the OA-1K will be used for a broader range of missions 'across the spectrum of armed conflict,' there's no doubt that the utility of the aircraft is already being discussed at the highest levels. The OA-1K was discussed specifically today before the Senate Armed Services Committee, which included Army Gen. Christopher G. Cavoli, commander of U.S. European Command and Supreme Allied Commander Europe, and Marine Corps Gen. Michael E. Langley, commander of U.S. Africa Command. Addressing Gen. Langley, Senator Mark Kelly of Arizona identified what he said was a 'close air support gap' in the AFRICOM area of responsibility, amid an uptick in activities by violent extremist organizations. 'As our focus continues towards large-scale combat operations in INDOPACOM and in Europe, I'm concerned that our defense modernization and optimization will trend towards those theaters, but away from other issues that we can't ignore [including] the real threat of terrorism and gray-zone operations, especially in Africa,' Kelly said. Kelly then asked Gen. Langley whether the OA-1K could fill a particular armed intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) requirement for AFRICOM. 'Every combat commander needs more ISR in support of our operations,' Langley said. 'I would take any additional ISR and any enhanced technologies that would add to the credibility and the lethality of our forces.' Questions about the viability of an armed ISR platform in the class of the OA-1K are by no means new. Indeed, they have accompanied the development of this aircraft as well as various progenitors. This long-drawn-out process involved roughly two decades of mainly abortive light attack aircraft projects under different names, as well as combat experiments conducted across the U.S. military, in particular in the course of operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. In the process, the Air Force stepped away from the light attack initiative, and it then fell exclusively within SOCOM, as you can read more about here. Throughout these years of lower-intensity operations, there was interest in the potential of cheaper alternatives to existing tactical platforms in the U.S. inventory to carry out missions such as close air support, armed overwatch, and ISR support, in permissive airspace. As well as being cheaper, aircraft in this class also promised to have smaller operating footprints, allowing them to be flown in and out of more austere sites closer to operating areas. At the same time, by having low-cost fixed-wing light attack platforms fly these kinds of missions, expensive-to-operate tactical warplanes could be held back for more challenging missions, reducing fatigue on these airframes. By the time of the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, these kinds of concepts were looking far less relevant, although they didn't disappear altogether: the decision to procure the OA-1K was made after U.S. troops left Afghanistan in 2022. Since then, the Pentagon has been busy considering how best to prepare for a future high-end fight, especially one fought against China in the Indo-Pacific region. Against this backdrop, the Government Accountability Office (GAO), in a 2023 report, criticized SOCOM since it had 'not reevaluated its needs [for the OA-1K] despite changes to operational missions (such as the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan) and force structure reductions under consideration.' Another concern has been SOCOM's planned withdrawal of special operations U-28A Draco and Beechcraft King Air-based ISR aircraft while introducing the OA-1K. While funds from these divestments will help to procure the new platform, the command admits that the OA-1K will not be a direct replacement for either and that new intelligence-gathering platforms will still be required. Some would say this leaves the OA-1K as an aircraft increasingly in search of a role. Today's media release from AFSOC would seem to support that, with its vague descriptions of the OA-1K's potential to be used 'across the spectrum of armed conflict.' When the OA-1K received its Skyraider II name earlier this year, Air Force Brig. Gen. Craig Prather, AFSOC's director of Strategic Plans, Programs and Requirements, highlighted the aircraft's potential to 'take on missions' along 'the southwest border' with Mexico — in addition to operations across Africa. Again, this speaks to the command looking to find relevant missions for its new charge. At a media roundtable on the sidelines of the Air & Space Forces Association's main annual conference last September, Lt. Gen. Conley told TWZ last September that some thought was already being given to using the OA-1K for 'novel mission sets,' such as signals intelligence or electronic intelligence, although he admitted that this was 'not anything we've committed to yet.' Exactly how and where the OA-1K might be used in an operational context remains to be seen, especially as the focus of the current Trump administration seems to be much less on Africa and other areas of lower-intensity conflict. However, the delivery of the first missionized OA-1K to Hurlburt Field today is an important milestone. Further examples of the 75 aircraft now on order will go to Will Rogers Air National Guard Base, Oklahoma, 'in the coming months,' to equip the formal training unit. 'From when OA-1K was conceptualized and decided on until now, the world's changed a little bit,' Lt. Gen. Conley told TWZ last September. AFSOC will now hope that its new Skyraider II can keep pace with those changes. Contact the author: thomas@
