U.S. Air Force Special Operations Command’s Light Attack becomes a reality, with the start of the training for the Sky Warden in both active duty and ANG units.
On July 29, 2024, the 137th Special Operations Wing of the Oklahoma Air National Guard received its first L3Harris / Air Tractor AT-802U at Will Rogers International Airport in Oklahoma City. The announcement comes after one earlier this month that Hurlburt Field, Florida, had received their initial batch of two training aircraft on July 8.
The 137th SOW, already the Formal Training Unit (FTU) for the MC-12W “Liberty”, is now planned to become the FTU for the OA-1K as well. With the U-28A planned for retirement (or supplementation, depending on who you ask) and the MC-12W remaining in service, the 137th is presumed to be planning on flying two airframes – at least for now.
The OA-1K, a variant of the AT-802U, was the winner of Special Operations Command’s Armed Overwatch contract in 2022. The airplane beat out the Beechcraft AT-6 Wolverine, Embraer A-29 Super Tucano, and PZL’s M28B 1R Bryza. The purpose of the contract was to outfit AFSOC with a small airframe for Close Air Support (CAS), strike, and Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) missions. The aircraft are built in Olney, Texas, and outfitted for the armed overwatch mission in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
The AT-802U is currently operated by several governments globally, including Croatia, Egypt, and Jordan. The United States will be the only operator of the OA-1K model at this time. The Air Force had previously planned to purchase 75 of the type but have walked back their plans in recent years. A $3 Billion contract was awarded to Air Tractor and L3Harris for the airplanes in 2022.
According to Air Tractor’s website, the AT-802U is outfitted with eight wing-mounted hard points capable of carrying 500 pounds (227 kg) of ordnance and two centerline hardpoints for 1000 lb (454 kg) weapons, with a total payload of 8,000 lbs (3,629 kg). The innermost hardpoints are said to be optimized for externally-mounted guns, with .50 caliber to 20 mm listed as the range. The airplane also features a two-crew cockpit and engine armor, self-sealing fuel tanks, and a Pratt & Whitney PT6A-67F engine.
Significantly, according to Air Tractor, the airplane’s cost per flying hour is also measured in the hundreds of dollars to operate – much cheaper than the various current U.S. Air Force aircraft flying the same missions which are costing thousands or tens of thousands of dollars per hour. Outside of these new military capabilities, the AT-802 also has an impressive resume in crop dusting, aerial firefighting, and drug interdiction operations.
The U-28A Draco, the aircraft the OA-1K will be supplementing, is a single-engine counter-insurgency (COIN) and ISR platform built on the Pilatus PC-12. The U.S. Air Force currently flies the U-28A under two home Wings – the 1st Special Operations Wing at Hurlburt Field, Florida, and the 27th Special Operations Wing at Cannon AFB, New Mexico. The Draco will, however, continue to operate in a limited capacity after the Sky Warden comes online.
The Oklahoma Air National Guard’s 137th Special Operations Wing is situated at Will Rogers International Airport, Oklahoma. The Wing has a very diverse history, flying everything from the North American F-51 Mustang and Lockheed RF-80 Shooting Star to the Lockheed C-130 Hercules, Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker, and now the modified crop duster OA-1K. From fighters to airlift to air refueling and now special operations, the 137th has done a little bit of everything.
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The OA-1K designation seems to be a callback to the Korean and Vietnam Wars’ legendary Douglas A-1 Skyraider, which ended production with a J-model. One can certainly draw parallels between the two aircraft and their roles.
Armed Overwatch
The U.S. Special Operations Command announced on Aug. 1, 2022, the selection of the AT-802U Sky Warden as the winner of the Armed Overwatch program. Built on the rugged, reliable Air Tractor AT-802U platform, L3Harris says that thanks to the STOL capability and small support footprint, aircrews will be able to co-locate with the disaggregated ground units they support.
The fleet of modern multi-mission aircraft will address SOCOM’s need for a deployable, sustainable single-engine fixed-wing, crewed and affordable aircraft system. It will provide Close Air Support (CAS), precision strike, armed Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR), strike coordination and Forward Air Controller (FAC) requirements for use in austere and permissive environments. The aircraft will be also used in irregular warfare operations.
“Armed Overwatch answers a critical need for U.S. Special Operations Command to conduct a wide range of operations globally in support of the National Defense Strategy,” then SOCOM Commander Gen. Richard Clarke said in a release in 2022. “This rugged, sustainable platform will operate in permissive environments and austere conditions around the world to safeguard our special operations forces on the ground.”
Gen. Clarke told lawmakers in 2021 he envisioned four operational squadrons of 15 Armed Overwatch aircraft with one deployed at any given time while the other three train, recover and are maintained at home, and a fifth squadron dedicated to training.
