Latest news with #U.S.SpecialOperationsCommand
Newsweek
22-07-2025
- Newsweek
Army Warns of Terror Threat in Florida
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. U.S. Army Special Operations Command (USASOC) sent out a letter warning about a "potential terrorist threat" in Florida. The letter was sent to retired senior officials living in Florida who had worked previously for the Defense Department (DOD) in Syria or Iraq. Colonel Allie Weiskopf, U.S. Special Operations Command director of public affairs, told Newsweek: "The military receives reports of threats all the time. In this case, Army Special Operations wanted to ensure the right personnel were tracking." Neither the nature of the threat nor a terrorist group was mentioned in the letter. Close-up US ARMY badge taken at the U.S. military training area Grafenwoehr, headquarters of the 7th Army Training Command on March 11th, 2022. Close-up US ARMY badge taken at the U.S. military training area Grafenwoehr, headquarters of the 7th Army Training Command on March 11th, 2022. Frank Hoermann/SVEN SIMON/picture-alliance/dpa/AP Images Why It Matter Colonel Allie Scott explained to The New York Times that this kind of letter is not uncommon, but that the threat was deemed credible enough to issue the warning. USASOC was involved in strikes across Syria and Iraq targeting the Islamic State group and Al-Qaeda. Many of those involved in those strikes have remained unidentified for fear of retaliation. What To Know The letter sent on July 15 is a "Duty to Warn" letter. It was posted to social media by Marine and blogger Kagan Dunlap, and initially confirmed by USASOC to The New York Times and Task & Purpose on July 17. The warning, sent by Colonel Mark A. Katz, USASOC provost marshal, states that the threat does not involve current USASOC personnel, but it should "reinforce the importance of vigilance and situational awareness." The MacDill Air Force Base in Florida is home to the headquarters of the U.S. Special Operations Command and Central Command. The US Southern Command is also headquartered in Florida, at a location in Miami. In early 2025, the FBI said that the driver involved in the New Year's Eve car-ramming attack in New Orleans, which killed 14 people, had an Islamic State flag in his vehicle. What People Are Saying The letter states: "This message is to inform you of a recent 'Duty to Warn' notification regarding a potential terrorist threat targeting retired senior officials who previously served in the Department of Defense with roles in the Syria/Iraq theater. The current geographic focus of this threat is Florida." Colonel Allie Weiskopf, U.S. Special Operations Command director of public affairs, told Newsweek: "We can't name specific people or terrorist organizations, and we always encourage our service members and retirees to be vigilant." Colonel Allie Scott told Task & Purpose: "I would say that there was information that was credible enough to provide this level of reporting to our formation." Scott further explained: "We issued that warning, as we do with all credible threats, we issued those to our formations because, of course, the security and safety of all our personnel is important." What Happens Next Retired military personnel living in Florida should report any suspicious activity to local law enforcement. Other personnel should remain vigilant, the letter states.
Atlantic
09-07-2025
- Politics
- Atlantic
How Israel Came to Own the Skies Above Iran
It's doubtful that the state-of-the-art stealth technology cloaking American B-2 bombers as they attacked Iran's nuclear facilities on the night of June 21 was even necessary. Iran's airspace, by then, was like a red carpet. With two heavy blows—one last October and one in mid-June—Israel had already destroyed Iran's air defenses and taken control of its skies. President Donald Trump claimed that the air strikes he ordered 'obliterated' Iran's nuclear ambitions, which they probably didn't. The air strikes have certainly set those ambitions back. But the accomplishment was not America's. It was Israel's. Leaving aside questions about the wisdom and efficacy of the Israeli and American attacks on Iran, this much is clear: The Israelis achieved complete air supremacy days before the B-2s took off. How did they do it? What does it say about Iran's fate, or about air war in the 21st century? During the past several days, I posed these questions to some former top military officers, most of them only recently retired. At a time when talk about the future of air war focuses largely on drones, satellites, and hypersonic missiles, Israel's success (and Iran's failure) is something of a throwback. 'I think the general plan for this has been on the books for years,' General Joseph Votel, who led the U.S. Special Operations Command and then the U.S. Central Command before retiring in 2019, told me. Israel 'certainly made getting into the target area a little less dicey for our forces.' Israel's offensive employed but did not rely completely on the most modern technology. And as quickly as Israel prevailed, its triumph did not happen overnight. Phillips Payson O'Brien: What Trump—and the U.S.—can't understand about air strikes Success involved, first, Israel taking steps to protect itself against devastating retaliation by dismantling Iran's surrogate militias, Hezbollah and Hamas, and building, with American help, an effective shield against missiles and drones. Air strikes by Israel against Iranian targets in April 2024 likely helped locate and damage Iran's air defenses. Then came two joint air-force/special-operations missions: the initial one on October 26, 2024 (Operation Days of Repentance), and the second on June 13 (Operation Rising Lion). The star of both was the much-maligned F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, an aircraft that rightly earned criticism for its costly development and production, and that more recently has been slammed for lagging behind cutting-edge and less expensive, unmanned alternatives. In November, Elon Musk called the F-35 'obsolete.' But it was Adir fighters, Israel's F-35 variant, that made the all-important initial stealthy forays deep into Iranian airspace last year, evading detection and destroying Iran's ability to track and shoot down incoming aircraft. In that first wave, Israeli F-35s likely overflew nations such as Jordan, Iraq, Lebanon, or Syria without seeking permission, moving too fast to trigger a response, and then entered Iranian airspace. Given Iran's weak air force, old airplanes, and poorly trained pilots, Israeli aircraft didn't face much danger of being challenged in the air. But Iran's anti-aircraft defenses, including Russian S-300 and possibly S-400 ground-to-air missiles, are modern and formidable. These batteries were probably among the primary targets in Israel's initial wave, but pilots also had to be alert to immediate threats. In their cockpits, they were immersed in visual displays, both projections inside their helmet visors and, directly in front of them, a large touch-screen monitor. The images integrated the steady flow of data from the airplane's multiple sensors, giving a complete, moving, spherical, 360-degree picture of the airplane's surroundings. Pilots can 'see' an enemy fighter or ground-to-air missile battery well before they are in visual or targeting range, and they are also alerted immediately if their jet has been 'painted' by enemy radar. Danger must be assessed and decisions made very rapidly. If a fighter has indeed been painted, how urgent is the threat? Should pilots preempt the assigned mission and attack the threat, or should they evade it and proceed? Israel says it did not lose a single one of its $100 million Adir fighters in the course of its attacks. Iran claims to have shot down four of them in June. Either way, the F-35s got the job done, probably striking the anti-aircraft batteries themselves but also vital command-and-control networks needed to coordinate their use. These systems rely on the feed of radar readings to command centers—the 'eyes' of the system—giving defenders a picture of what is happening in the air. Smashing them would have the effect of blinding Iran to attacking planes, drones, and missiles. It effectively opened the door for two more waves of air attacks, more than 100 aircraft in all, including non-stealthy F-15s, F-16s, refueling tankers, and surveillance planes, plus helicopters that delivered covert ground-combat units. It is likely that these covert units helped find mobile missile launchers—easier on the ground than in the air. Israeli teams apparently located and destroyed—either by themselves or by directing air attacks—most or all of the Russian-made batteries. Meanwhile, the coordinated attacks in June destroyed Iranian air force F-14 and F-15 fighters on the ground. The initial October 2024 Israeli operation came weeks after Iran launched some 180 missiles at Tel Aviv and other targets throughout Israel in response to the assassinations of Hezbollah and Hamas leaders. Operation Days of Repentance was seen at the time, by the public at any rate, as tit for tat. It wasn't. 'It was principally to reduce their air defenses in anticipation of a more robust strike,' retired Air Force Lieutenant General David Deptula told me. Deptula, who now heads the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies, helped build the air-attack plans for the Desert Storm campaign in 1990–91 that took back Kuwait from Saddam Hussein. Eliot A. Cohen: The three dramatic consequences of Israel's attack on Iran That more robust strike, Rising Lion, began on June 13, hitting dozens of military and nuclear sites, including the main uranium-enrichment facility at Natanz, centrifuge workshops near Tehran, laboratories in Isfahan, and the Arak nuclear reactor. Again, without losing a plane or suffering a casualty, Israel killed as many as 30 military commanders, including the chief of Iran's armed forces, General Mohammad Bagheri; the head of the separate Revolutionary Guard Corps Aerospace Force, General Amir Ali Hajizadeh; and the chief of the Revolutionary Guard, Hossein Salami. Also killed were nine of the country's top nuclear scientists. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's supreme leader, was reduced to hiding in a bunker, duly naming successors in the event of his own death and sending orders mainly through a trusted aide. The technology employed against Iran has advanced far beyond what Deptula had to work with in Desert Storm, but the playbook, he said, is not dissimilar: 'attacks on the same centers of gravity that we applied in paralyzing Saddam's ability to respond—military leadership, command and control, and key essential systems infrastructure.' In a modern twist, Israel likely added large attack drones and special-ops units that spun up short-range quadcopters and microdrones—very small flying devices that can be used inside buildings, and that can either carry their own lethal small explosives or provide precise targeting information. Deptula called them 'inexpensive cruise missiles.' Retired General Jim Slife, the former U.S. Air Force vice chief of staff, was also reminded of Desert Storm, where the first military order of business was 'to roll back the air-defense system so you can gain air superiority.' Air attacks are only as useful as the intelligence that guides them, and here may be the most significant Israeli accomplishment. The U.S. has extensive spy networks, human and electronic, and its reach is global. Israel's focus is far narrower. For the past 40 years, Israel has concentrated its efforts mostly on Iran and its proxies, and in particular on Iran's nuclear ambitions. A country the size of New Jersey with only two major cities, Israel would not likely survive a nuclear attack. Mossad agents have infiltrated the top ranks of Iran's government and military and have recruited spies in every sector of Iranian life. Iran's mullah-led government is extremely unpopular. Given the pinpoint success of its attacks, it appears that Israel made use of a deep-seated bench of valuable informants. Most of the prominent Iranians killed knew they were living in Israel's crosshairs and presumably had taken precautions. Killing them meant knowing exactly where and when to strike, says retired General Raymond Thomas, a former commander of U.S. Special Operations Command. 'I think we all appreciate the Israelis have extraordinary intelligence infrastructure already in country. I think they've completely permeated Iranian intelligence, Iranian security. I don't know the specifics, but I'm sure that they are everywhere.' Israeli special-ops teams were likely inserted into Iran to destroy targets themselves and to act as a rescue force in case any Israeli planes were shot down. But, most important, their job was to steer aerial attacks precisely to their targets. 'If you're taking out the military leaders, taking out the scientists, that sort of thing, you probably have Israeli special-operations guys on the ground knowing where, say, General so-and-so was, right?' one retired senior officer told me. ''We've been following,' you know, 'General Jones, and we know that he's just gone into this apartment building. He's on the 11th floor.' And if you're going to send in a TLAM'—a Tomahawk Land Attack Missile—'it's got to hit the window on the 11th floor, right?' This is not something that can be seen from a satellite, he said. Iran's military defenses and its government and research networks had also been laid bare by decades of cooperative U.S. and Israeli SIGINT, or Signals Intelligence—information gathered by surveillance and interception. 'What the Israelis are particularly good at, and what we're particularly good at, is fusing multiple disciplines of intelligence,' a retired Army general told me, noting this long, cooperative effort. 'Not just imagery from satellites but electronic intelligence, you know, RF'—radio frequency—'collection, being able to do that from space, and just a sustained focus. Years of analysts following movements of vehicles and equipment and so on. I think what you're seeing is the degree to how much more transparent everything becomes with the right capabilities.' Among the things that became 'transparent' were Iran's ground-to-air missile systems. 'Through intelligence analysis, you figure out where the key nodes are to an air-defense network,' Slife, the retired Air Force general, told me. 'You attack them and then the whole system comes down.' Long-term intel analysis could also track the habits and movements of important Iranian military leaders and nuclear scientists. To target them, Israel reportedly used small drones 'just like the Ukrainians used in Russia,' Thomas said, referring to the Spider Web attacks earlier this year that damaged or destroyed on the ground an estimated 34 percent of Russia's cruise-missile-carrying aircraft. Small drones like these may have been smuggled into Iran in parts over months or years—or, Thomas speculated, were manufactured inside Iran using 3-D printers. Iran has itself to blame for much of its vulnerability. Its military and government have been compromised by years of corruption and poor management—promotions based on loyalty or family connections rather than competence. 'It's a fundamentally dishonest regime,' one former senior U.S. defense official told me. 'They've been drinking their own whiskey. There were enormous holes in their air defenses to begin with.' The defense official went on: 'There have always been ways to get in and out.' Tom Nichols: Israel's bold, risky attack For Deptula, who studies air war, the successful Israeli operations 'ought to put to rest, for now, the idea that we don't need manned aircraft anymore.' He acknowledged that unmanned fighters—the kind foreseen and touted by many defense analysts—are coming. 'But I'm here to tell you it's going to be a lot longer than people anticipate based on what you've seen hyped in the media.' He said it will take a long time for AI to catch up to 'what a human mind inside a very capable sensor-shooter aircraft can accomplish.' Iran has been humiliated, and it will likely find ways to strike back. The air cap that Israel put in place is too expensive for its relatively small air force to maintain for long. Permission for the constant flyovers that such a cap requires would have to come from Arab countries unlikely to cooperate, so positioning Israel's air force on friendlier ground would add to the expense. But even if Iran can rapidly reconstitute some of its air defenses, Israel has shown how quickly they can be crushed. For the foreseeable future, Israel owns Iran's sky. 'You can put anything you want over the adversary's territory,' explained retired Air Force Lieutenant General Marc Sasseville: fighters, tankers, intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance platforms, and other types of sensors and capabilities. 'You can basically operate with impunity over the enemy's capital and there's nothing they can do about it, because they can't shoot you down. They probably don't even know what you're doing, and you can attack at your leisure.'
Asahi Shimbun
09-07-2025
- Politics
- Asahi Shimbun
Trump says South Korea should be paying for its own defense
Members of South Korea's Army Special Warfare Command get ready to parachute from a MC-130 airplane during their military exercise with U.S. Special Operations Command which is a part of the annual Freedom Shield joint military training between South Korea and the United States in Gwangju, South Korea, on March 14, 2024. (REUTERS) WASHINGTON--U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday South Korea should be paying for its own military protection and suggested the U.S. ally needed to pay more for the U.S. troop presence there, a day after saying he planned to impose a 25 percent tariff on its imports. 'It's very unfair. We supply the militaries to many very successful countries,' Trump told reporters at a meeting of his Cabinet at the White House. 'South Korea is making a lot of money, and they're very good. They're very good, but, you know, they should be paying for their own military.' Trump said at he had got South Korea to agree to pay more for the presence of U.S. forces during his first term, but his predecessor Joe Biden 'canceled' the deal. 'I said to South Korea ... you know, we give you free military, essentially, very little,' Trump said, adding that he had told them they should pay $10 billion a year. 'I got three (billion) with a phone call ... but I said next year we have to talk,' he said, making claims Reuters has not verified. Trump said the presence of U.S. forces was a 'huge' economic benefit for countries that hosted them. 'It's like having a city, it's tremendous money for them, and it's a tremendous loss for us ... so we're talking, in a very nice way, We're talking to them.' South Korea hosts about 28,500 American troops as a legacy of the 1950-1953 Korean War. It relies on the U.S. nuclear umbrella for protection against China, Russia and North Korea, and is seen as a key ally for projecting U.S. military power. Shortly before last year's U.S. election, South Korea and the Biden administration hurried to sign a new, five-year agreement under which Seoul would raise its contribution toward the upkeep of U.S. troops by 8.3% to $1.47 billion in the first year, with later increases linked to the consumer price index. During his election campaign Trump said South Korea should pay as much as $10 billion per year and has said such costs would be part of trade negotiations. Trump in the past has suggested he could withdraw U.S. forces stationed overseas if countries did not pay more for their upkeep. In May, the Pentagon said a Wall Street Journal report that the U.S. was considering withdrawing roughly 4,500 troops from South Korea was not true.
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Yahoo
Harpoon Anti-Ship Missile-Armed AC-130J Gunships Could Be On The Horizon
Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience. Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience. Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience. Generate Key Takeaways U.S. Special Operations Command has test-loaded an AGM-84 Harpoon missile onto an AC-130J Ghostrider gunship. The addition of the Harpoon to the AC-130J's arsenal would give the gunship an all-new dedicated standoff anti-ship capability, which could be particularly relevant in a future large-scale conflict in the Pacific. Harpoon would also pair well with separate plans to expand the long-range targeting capabilities of the Ghostrider with the help of a new active electronically-scanned array (AESA) radar. Maj. Andrew Monroe, commander of U.S. Special Operations Command's (SOCOM) Detachment 1, mentioned the Harpoon load test during a talk at the annual SOF Week conference earlier today, at which TWZ was in attendance. Based at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida, Detachment 1 is primarily responsible for developmental testing related to the AC-130J, as well as the MC-130J Commando II special operations tanker/transport and OA-1K Skyraider II special operational light attack aircraft. The unit also supports integration work for special operations aircraft, broadly, as well as special operations aviation capability demonstrations. An AC-130J Ghostrider gunship. USAF Senior Airman Ty Pilgrim 'Over the last year, our team executed Precision Strike Package testing, Harpoon loading, and Small Cruise Missile integration and launch efforts off the AC 130J,' Maj. Monroe said. Precision Strike Package (PSP) is the official term for the AC-130J's armament package, as well as the associated sensors and fire control systems. Small Cruise Missile (SCM), which features a 400-mile range, is another current effort to add a new standoff strike capability to the Ghostrider, which you can read more about here. This appears to be the first time the possibility of adding Harpoon to the arsenal of an AC-130 gunship has emerged. TWZ has reached out to Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC), which operates all 31 Ghostriders currently in service, for more information. A Marine F/A-18C Hornet fighter armed with a live AGM-84 Harpoon during an exercise. USMC Each AC-130J is currently armed with a 30mm automatic cannon and a 105mm howitzer, both mounted in the main cargo hold and firing out of the left side of the fuselage. The gunships can also employ various precision-guided bombs and missiles via Common Launch Tubes (CLT) and underwing racks. This includes variants of the GBU-39/B Small Diameter Bomb (SDB), a 250-pound-class glide bomb offering standoff range. The Ghostrider has a demonstrated capability to engage maritime targets with its existing array of weapons, but it does not currently have the ability to employ a dedicated standoff anti-ship munition like Harpoon. The potential for Harpoon-armed AC-130Js comes amid growing questions about the Ghostrider's relevance in future high-end conflicts, especially a potential major fight with China across the broad expanses of the Pacific. The gunships are among a number of special operations aircraft facing these questions amid an ongoing U.S. military-wide shift away from primarily focusing on counter-terrorism and other lower-intensity missions. Even while supporting operations in largely permissive airspace over countries like Iraq and Afghanistan in the past two decades, AC-130s have operated almost exclusively under the cover of darkness to reduce vulnerability to ground fire. The TWZ video below provides an overview of the evolution of the AC-130 gunship and its armament, as well as how the AC-130J variant is now evolving to meet new operational demands. As TWZ wrote after the release of a video last year showing a Ghostrider pummelling the former Austin class amphibious warfare ship ex-USS Dubuque with its guns during the biennial Rim Of The Pacific (RIMPAC) exercise: 'The video from the RIMPAC 2024 SINKEX [sinking exercise] highlights how the Ghostriders, and their guns specifically, could be utilized against larger ships and in instances where the objective might not be to sink the vessel, such as during special operations boarding operations. The aircraft's 30mm cannon, in particular, could be used to engage personnel on a ship's deck.' 'However, during a future major conflict, just getting within gun range of a higher-value target like an amphibious warfare ship, likely operating as part of a larger group of warships further supported by air and other assets, would be a very tall order, if not impossible, for Air Force AC-130s. Ghostriders might still be able to leverage their guns against vessels in lower-risk areas or to help finish off severely damaged vessels separated from their companions. Armed overwatch over and around friendly forces on islands and anchorages could be another future maritime mission in a higher-end fight.' A standoff anti-ship missile like AGM-84 would change the dynamic considerably for an AC-130J. Even just in the aforementioned force protection scenario around island outposts and ports, Harpoons would give Ghostriders a valuable new way to engage maritime threats at extended distances. AGM-84 also has the benefit of being a weapon that is already in U.S. service. The Harpoon family is also still in production and upgraded versions continue to be developed. Current generation Block II Harpoons have a maximum range 'in excess' of 77 miles (67 nautical miles), according to Boeing, which manufactures the missiles. The company also offers an extended range version with greater reach, thanks in part to a lighter, but also reportedly more advanced warhead. Interest within the U.S. Air Force, as well as the U.S. Navy and the U.S. Marine Corps, in expanding overall capacity to launch aerial anti-ship strikes has grown, in general, as focus has shifted to the Pacific region. A growing list of U.S. military aircraft are also in line to be armed with AGM-158C Long-Range Anti-Ship Missiles (LRASM) in the coming years. AFSOC MC-130Js are also among transport aircraft that have been tested as potential launch platforms for cruise missiles, including the AGM-158 Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile (JASSM) from which the LRASM is derived, using a palletized munitions system called Rapid Dragon. It is worth pointing out here that Lockheed Martin, which manufactures the C-130J and did the AC-130J conversions, has pitched Harpoon as an armament option for a maritime patrol variant of the aircraft in the past. Sometimes referred to as the SC-130J, this proposed version has also been depicted armed with AGM-84H/K Standoff Land Attack Missile-Expanded Response (SLAM-ER) derivatives of the Harpoon. Integrating anti-ship Harpoons onto the AC-130J might also be a path to adding SLAM-ERs to the gunship's arsenal. A rendering of Lockheed Martin's proposed SC-130J maritime patrol version of the aircraft with a pair of AGM-84 Harpoons seen under its right wing. The aircraft is also depicted here releasing an anti-submarine torpedo from a weapons bay inside an elongated landing gear sponson, another feature of the SC-130J concept. Lockheed Martin Another rendering of the SC-130J concept with a pair of AGM-84H/K SLAM-ER missiles under each wing. Lockheed Martin There are questions about how an AC-130J armed with Harpoons would be able to find targets at sea and cue the missiles to them. This is where separate plans to add a new AESA radar to the Ghostrider could come in. This is something SOCOM has been actively working toward since at least 2023. 'We're looking to include or to deliver enhanced precision effects' on the AC-130J, 'which includes AESA radar integration,' Lt. Col. Shawna Matthys, Division Chief for Integrated Strike Programs within SOCOM's Program Executive Office-Fixed Wing (PEO-FW), also told TWZ and other attendees at SOF Week today. 'This will allow us to see further [and offer] more accurate target tracking.' Matthys also noted that radar might help with 'operating in contested environments.' TWZ has highlighted in the past how an AESA radar would give the AC-130J improved threat warning and general situational awareness, and could offer new electronic warfare capabilities. When the Ghostrider fleet might begin receiving new radars remains to be seen. USAF 'We're doing some pathfinding with an APG-83, which is a very common solution in the Air Force,' Col. T. Justin Bronder, head of PEO-FW, also said today at the SOF Week conference. 'We certainly look to leverage [non-special operations] service infrastructure where we can, because that gives us good economies of scale.' The Air Force is currently in the process of integrating Northrop Grumman AN/APG-83, also known as Scalable Agile Beam Radar (SABR), onto a significant number of its F-16C/D Viper fighters. In addition to its aerial surveillance capabilities, the AN/APG-83 has a synthetic aperture mapping mode, also referred to as SAR mapping, which allows it to produce high-resolution images. That imagery, in turn, can be used for target acquisition and identification purposes, as well as general reconnaissance. An AC-130J could use that capability to help find and target enemy ships with Harpoons, as well as SDBs. You can read more about the SABR in this past TWZ feature. The plan right now is to 'leverage the existing technology and then tailor that to the AC-130J,' Lt. Col. Matthys added following Col. Bronder's comments about current work with the AN/APG-83. Much remains to be learned about the extent of plans to arm the AC-130J with Harpoon. Still, a dedicated anti-ship weapon would give the gunships an important capability boost, especially with an eye toward future fights in the Pacific, even if they were to still operate in lower-threat portions of the battlespace. Contact the author: joe@
Yahoo
07-05-2025
- Yahoo
See the new warplane shown off during Special Operations Forces Week
The Brief The Sky Warden Skyraider 2 is a relatively small, single-wing airplane that's armed to the teeth to meet any threat. It's one of many battlefield technologies being shown off at Special Operations Forces Week. The plane is built with the engine and other systems that have been previously used for years on its crop-dusting cousin, but with special avionics and weapons systems installed. TAMPA, Fla. - L3 Harris test pilot Clint Logwood lives in St. Petersburg. He's showing off his company's new warplane close to home, in Tampa, during SOF Week: The Sky Warden Skyraider 2. It's a relatively small, single-wing airplane that's armed to the teeth to meet any threat. It can also land and take-off in a cow pasture. READ: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth speaks at Special Operations Forces Week event in Tampa "I'm qualified in 88 different aircraft, and this is by far the most fun," smiled Logwood. Big picture view It's one of many battlefield technologies being shown off at Special Operations Forces Week. A prime audience for the event is U.S. Special Operations Command, headquartered at MacDill Air Force Base. Nimble and new battlefield technology is top on their wish list. That's what L3Harris has installed in the Skyraider 2. Follow FOX 13 on YouTube "The sensors, the technology is amazing," said Logwood. "We can see from 25,000 feet and read your name tag anywhere in the world." Dig deeper The plane is built with the engine and other systems that have been previously used for years on its crop-dusting cousin, but with special avionics and weapons systems installed. L3 Harris' Systems President Jon Rambeau said it's perfect for close-in air support and reconnaissance missions and specifically designed for missions faced by special operators. MORE:Palm Harbor WWII veteran finds comfort in new mission at 100 years old: 'Life is golden' Rambeau said it's far less expensive than a jet fighter and can be easily stowed in a transport plane to be delivered for missions around the globe. He said SOCOM could have 12 of the planes by this time next year. Rambeau said the Skyraider 2 could also be purchased by U.S. allies. The cost per plane was not announced. The Source The information in this story was gathered by FOX 13's Lloyd Sowers. WATCH FOX 13 NEWS: STAY CONNECTED WITH FOX 13 TAMPA:
