The integration of the Red Wolf missile opens up a host of possibilities for the Skyraider II, as the USAF figures out its future in a high-intensity conventional war.
L3Harris announced on Feb. 9, 2026, the integration of the Red Wolf kinetic strike missile, part of the Red and Green Wolf family of launched effects, onto the U.S. Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC) OA-1K Skyraider II aircraft. The company highlighted the benefits of adding a standoff kinetic strike capability on the Skyraider II along with the existing electronic warfare and Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities, achieved through “both platforms’ modularity and ease of integration for evolving mission requirements.”
While questions have been raised over the Skyraider’s relevance in high-intensity warfare against peer adversaries, given its primary utility on low-intensity counter-insurgency conflicts, AFSOC leaders had said in the past that they would find its use even in the Indo-Pacific. The intention to continue moving forward with the program is also indicated by L3Harris opening on Aug. 27, 2025, a new hangar for expanded production of the OA-1K Skyraider II at its facility in Waco, Texas, to meet current and future demand.
AFSOC had funding for only six OA-1K Skyraiders in Fiscal Year 2026, down from the previously planned 12, which itself was reduced from 15 aircraft in FY2025. The command’s overall program of record, however, remains at 75 aircraft.
We showcased the ability to integrate our Red Wolf™ launched effects vehicle on our Sky Warden™ aircraft, highlighting both platforms’ modularity and ease of integration. Learn more: https://t.co/taqXIPoz2u pic.twitter.com/gu9jlkR8vg
— L3Harris (@L3HarrisTech) February 9, 2026
Rapid integration and customization for evolving mission needs
L3Harris’ statement said that the ability to integrate the Red Wolf on the Sky Warden, both developed by the company, underscores the “platforms’ modularity and ease of integration for evolving mission requirements including kinetic strike, electronic warfare (EW), and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR).” Sky Warden is the base aircraft upon which the OA-1K was developed, itself derived from the Air Tractor AT-802 cropduster, in response to the AFSOC’s Armed Overwatch program in 2022.
L3Harris’ president for ISR, Space and Mission Systems Jason Lambert described the OA-1K Skyraider II/Sky Warden as a platform that can “fly, take off and land anywhere, anytime, outfitted with a wide range of payloads,” meeting customer needs for a “lean, agile aircraft.” He further added that “bringing together Red Wolf and Sky Warden demonstrates the rapid reconfiguration and customization of key L3Harris capabilities.”
Sky Warden is developed for close air support, precision strike and armed ISR mission sets. It offers a small footprint, low cost per flying hour and can operate from small dirt strips while being armed with two electro-optical sensors, APKWS II guided rockets, GBU-12 Paveway II bombs and AGM-114 Hellfire missiles.
For survivability, the OA-1K has AN/AAR-47 Missile Approach Warning Sensors (MAWS) on the wingtips, as well as AN/ALE-47 Airborne Countermeasures Dispenser System on the underside of the wings. A Ku-band SATCOM (Satellite Communications) system is installed in a large ‘bump’ behind the cockpit, together with five other conventional radio communications suites, allowing for both LOS and BLOS (Beyond Line-of-Sight) communications.
L3Harris described the Red Wolf as a “multi-domain kinetic vehicle for long-range precision strikes,” while the Green Wolf is meant for electronic warfare and even decoy or radar probing roles. “Like its Green Wolf EW counterpart, it offers extended loiter capability and standoff range engagement,” L3Harris said in its latest statement.
The mention of loitering capability also means the missile can function as an unmanned loitering munition, receiving targeting updates from either the aircraft or even troops on the ground. L3Harris’s statement further added: “This integration concept underscores the engineering prowess across the company to meet customer demands to defeat adversary threats with adaptable, open standards-based solutions.”
Notably, the U.S. Marine Corps recently placed an $86.2 million contract for the Red Wolf to equip the AH-1Z attack helicopter. It is unclear however if AFSOC is interested in acquiring the weapon.
Skyraider II, Red Wolf and kinetic warfare
L3Harris has not released any details on the Red Wolf and Skyraider II integration efforts, except for an image of the display unit of the missile on a carrier box underneath the outer wing pylon of the aircraft. It is unclear if this setting was part of the ground testing of the missile’s interfaces with the Skyraider II.
More range. More precision. More lethality: The @USMC is fast-tracking the new Precision Attack Strike Munition (PASM)! Following successful testing by #HX21 in 2025, the Navy has awarded L3Harris Technologies the contract to bring this weapon to our AH-1Z Viper fleet. pic.twitter.com/es0sccb2IC
— NAVAIR (@NAVAIRNews) February 2, 2026
L3Harris’ vice president for business development Matthew “Gucci” Klunder previously described in a promotional video the various possibilities with the Red and Green Wolf family: “We can adjust the size of the warhead, the fuel tank, we can even put a parachute on the back of it, and we have. It can be a kinetic effect, it could be a non-kinetic effect, it could even be a decoy.”
Different warheads and fuel tank sizes will impact ranges and the desired kinetic/non-kinetic effect, particularly with heavier penetrating warheads for hardened ground targets. Parachute recovery options meanwhile qualifies it as a drone and, with Klunder also mentioning the missiles could be launched from sea, ground platforms and fixed wing platforms, opens up a host of capabilities for special operations operators.
In October 2025, AFSOC chief Lt. Gen. Michael Conley talked at the Air and Space Forces Association’s Air, Space and Cyber Conference about adding Leidos’ Black Arrow small cruise missile to the Skyraider II’s arsenal. “I absolutely see a desire to have that, but not just with OA-1Ks. I would love to be able to use long-range standoff mission munitions on multiple aircraft,” National Defense Magazine reported.
The weapon is currently being eyed primarily to provide a standoff capability to the AC-130J, with a reported range of 400 nautical miles. L3Harris had put the Red Wolf’s range at or a little over 200 nautical miles.
Possible theaters
In September 2024, Air and Space Forces had quoted Conley hinting at the Skyraider II’s service in the Indo-Pacific. “Once we get the aircraft […] our crew members and our maintainers will figure out novel ways that it will be relevant in the future [and] current fight,” said Conley. “The Pacific is incredibly important to us for all the reasons [then Secretary Frank Kendall] has said: China, China, China. We get it. But we’ve also got the rest-of-the-world mission […] and I want to have all the cards […] to fight wherever they need us to.”
With 45 flights and counting, Red Wolf ™ and Green Wolf ™ ensure warfighters have a critical battlefield edge when it matters most. Learn more: https://t.co/FS2PrpoJCx #AUSA2025 pic.twitter.com/het0wEiJBh
— L3Harris (@L3HarrisTech) October 7, 2025
Given the prevailing conflicts in West Asia and some emerging low intensity flashpoints in Africa, particularly in the Sahel region, the Skyraider II would be a far cheaper and simpler platform against irregular, asymmetric threats. This would unburden fighter jets which could then be tasked for other missions.
The wait is over.
Introducing Red Wolf ᵀᴹ and Green Wolf ᵀᴹ, the first vehicles in our expanding pack of launched effects systems. pic.twitter.com/d4oG7fgeE4
— L3Harris (@L3HarrisTech) July 17, 2025
