US Special Operations Command chooses L3Harris’ Sky Warden for Armed Overwatch effort

[NutLoose]

Pretty it isn't, it looks like the crop sprayer has won :)

WASHINGTON — U.S. Special Operations Command on Monday announced it has selected the AT-802U Sky Warden, made by L3Harris Technologies and Air Tractor, for its Armed Overwatch program (https://www.defensenews.com/air/2021/02/16/special-ops-still-bullish-on-new-armed-overwatch-plane/).

The indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity contract will be worth up to $3 billion, L3Harris said in a release Monday. The initial program contract award is for $170 million.

Air Tractor is an aircraft manufacturer from Olney, Texas, that typically makes firefighting aircraft and agricultural planes such as crop dusters.

Initial production of the Sky Warden will take place at Air Tractor’s facility in Olney. L3Harris will then modify those planes into the Armed Overwatch mission configuration at its Tulsa, Oklahoma modification center, beginning in 2023. L3Harris said work will also take place at its other sites in Greenville, Rockwall and Waco, Texas and Nashville, Tennessee.

Air Force Special Operations Command’s Armed Overwatch program (https://www.defensenews.com/air/2021/05/18/these-five-companies-could-build-a-new-armed-overwatch-plane-for-air-force-special-operators/) aims to build a fleet of up to 75 flexible, fixed-wing aircraft suitable for deployment to austere locations, with little logistical tail needed to keep them operating.

SOCOM is planning for the single-engine Sky Warden, as AFSOC’s Armed Overwatch plane, to be able to provide close air support, precision strike and armed intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions for counterterrorism operations and irregular warfare.

AFSOC commander Lt. Gen. Jim Slife said last year he hopes Armed Overwatch aircraft will be suited to pressure extremist groups in places like Africa, in which the airspace is essentially uncontested.

The Air Force moved to establish a series of Armed Overwatch planes as it shifted its primary focus — and some of its more complex and expensive-to-operate fighters and bombers — away from combating terrorist groups and violent extremist organizations in places like the Middle East.
https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/EGAgkZW69onqkwIIj5dzfA--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTcwNTtoPTQ3MDtjZj13ZWJw/https://www.armytimes.com/resizer/uwjwur25BVZ4uhLmEdveL63nnBY=/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/mco/WEKGUXBP2JEA5IJLK2WK432SVM.jpg
https://news.yahoo.com/us-special-operations-command-chooses-234924553.html

[MPN11]

I like. Not everything has to be Mach 2/Stealth/$500m per unit. A bit of economy and diverse capability is a good thing.

[pr00ne]

I like. Not everything has to be Mach 2/Stealth/$500m per unit. A bit of economy and diverse capability is a good thing.

With the current success of shoulder launched sam’s in Ukraine, and their ease of both operation and acquisition, this looks like making some US folk extremely vulnerable!

[MPN11]

With the current success of shoulder launched sam’s in Ukraine, and their ease of both operation and acquisition, this looks like making some US folk extremely vulnerable!
Agreed … deployment areas would be a factor. But that’s all part of Threat Assessment, innit! Night NVG capability?

[uxb99]

With the current success of shoulder launched sam’s in Ukraine, and their ease of both operation and acquisition, this looks like making some US folk extremely vulnerable!
Maybe, maybe not. Ukrainian Frogfeet seem to be surviving.

[uxb99]

I just realised it's a tail dragger. Is this the first tail dragger to enter service recently with an armed force?

[Less Hair]

All sorts of Baslers and Bird Dogs and even Pilatus UV-20A are used already.

[GlobalNav]

With the current success of shoulder launched sam’s in Ukraine, and their ease of both operation and acquisition, this looks like making some US folk extremely vulnerable!

Initially I was thinking the same thing, but I suppose the operational scenario is for a covert special mission and the use of man pads could end up being counter-productive for the enemy. I’m not a special operator though. Hard to imagine that Spec Ops Command didn’t consider the possibilities.

[FakePilot]

A bunch of antiaircraft cannon rounds are sitting in Heaven talking.
2cm Flak 38: I hit a Spitfire!
(Approving murmuring)
CRAM 35mm: I stopped a mortar round!
(Surprised murmuring)
14.5x114: I hit an A10!
(Impressed murmuring)
Dshk 12.7x108: I hit a um, er, never mind.

[West Coast]

With the current success of shoulder launched sam’s in Ukraine, and their ease of both operation and acquisition, this looks like making some US folk extremely vulnerable!

The likes of al-Shabab won’t have the backing/supplies that Ukraine has from the west. There’s existing brush wars in Africa and thankfully planes aren’t falling out of the sky. This just matches the size of the hammer needed for the threat.

[nomorecatering]

This aircrafts native habitat is 2 feet (could be 2 inches) above any ground, grass, tress, or below tree top height. You might be able to hear it, but the tree cover will stop you seeing it. If you can't see it, you can't shoot at it.

[MPN11]

… or quietly at FL100 with small LGB? Presumably capable of being fitted/carried?

[Thud_and_Blunder]

uxb99, I'm pretty sure Apache is a taildragger, Blackhawk too. Even the Chinook usually arrives tail first. OK, none of them arrived that recently..

[Lonewolf_50]

uxb99, I'm pretty sure Apache is a taildragger, Blackhawk too. Even the Chinook usually arrives tail first. OK, none of them arrived that recently.. Can confirm that. :ok::}

[RAFEngO74to09]

Manufacturer's info here:

https://www.l3harris.com/all-capabilities/skywarden

[chopper2004]

I wandered over to the L-3 chalet and spoke to one of the sales directors who is a former Spectre driver about their At-802 on display and got some swag as well, here are my photos.

https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune.org-vbulletin/960x720/297265420_10160635395831490_7795253606204200431_n_84bed7073b ba65eb2cd57ead327b1f3fa81e299b.jpg
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune.org-vbulletin/960x720/297272928_10160635393646490_7634245422087346744_n_3df1f354a8 74fc190a129764a1d4e3cc849dac56.jpg
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune.org-vbulletin/960x720/297554910_10160635393531490_3431171854346144398_n_a0decf8dde 3f34aab8e6abf6bb6ebcc6cee49983.jpg
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune.org-vbulletin/960x720/297341571_10160635414281490_400455567713204898_n_12155173b17 8dd34f7913cff495233d8ca04c298.jpg

Go back in time to Vietnam era and the Jungle Jims out of Hulbert / Eglin were experimenting with light attack aircraft according to my copy of Wayne Mutza excellent book
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune.org-vbulletin/2000x1961/297489765_10160635487306490_1533298028974963132_n_93fe644253 2c2ae3e7b2af58f4ebc5d6ccc96104.jpg
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune.org-vbulletin/1500x2000/297401126_10160635487346490_7630068039421504282_n_eed2385e3f fa1940d5ec6956681a83f45bdf13cc.jpg
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune.org-vbulletin/2000x1212/297118503_10160635487356490_7111984857926202084_n_f248c849df a804fd81574ec97ff6cbc3ef8250eb.jpg


cheers

[NutLoose]

The look of it reminds me in part of the IL2 Sturmovik


https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune.org-vbulletin/1274x827/image_93cc3f2c2bb78d0fded4c7fbb34d5c2f884516e2.png

[dead_pan]

This aircrafts native habitat is 2 feet (could be 2 inches) above any ground, grass, tress, or below tree top height. You might be able to hear it, but the tree cover will stop you seeing it. If you can't see it, you can't shoot at it.

Didn't see any mention of a chemtrails dispenser in the weapon's fit...

The fun + games begin when it has to pop-up to engage anything.

[N707ZS]

I just realised it's a tail dragger. Is this the first tail dragger to enter service recently with an armed force?
These aircraft have been around for quite a few years. There was a video around some years back of one chasing and destroying a drug runner in South America. At least on Arab country also operates them.
And they also come with floats used for fire bombing.

[chopper2004]

Will Rogers ANG base will receive the Sky Warden establishing Formal Training Unit, next year replacing the MC-12W Liberty:

https://www.af.mil/News/Article-Display/Article/3241946/will-rogers-angb-selected-as-sole-candidate-to-replace-mc-12s-with-new-at-802u/

cheers

[chevvron]

Why don't they call them a 'Skyraider 11' and have done with that?

[ORAC]

https://www.defensenews.com/air/2023/12/14/us-special-ops-may-be-buying-too-many-armed-overwatch-planes-says-gao/

US special ops may be buying too many Armed Overwatch planes, says GAO

WASHINGTON — U.S. Special Operations Command should reconsider its plan to buy 75 Armed Overwatch aircraft (https://www.defensenews.com/air/2022/08/01/us-special-operations-command-chooses-l3harris-sky-warden-for-armed-overwatch-effort/), a government watchdog said Thursday.

The Government Accountability Office recommended the command slow down its acquisition of the AT-802U Sky Warden, its choice for Armed Overwatch program (https://www.defensenews.com/air/2021/05/18/these-five-companies-could-build-a-new-armed-overwatch-plane-for-air-force-special-operators/), beginning in fiscal 2025 until SOCOM carries out a more thorough analysis for the fleet.…..

But the study SOCOM performed to decide it needed 75 Armed Overwatch planes “relied on unproven assumptions” and didn’t justify a fleet of that size, GAO said in its report, titled “Special Operations Forces: DOD Should Slow Acquisition of Armed Overwatch Aircraft Until It Conducts Needed Analysis.”…

The department partially agreed with the recommendation to temporarily limit Armed Overwatch acquisition, but said SOCOM will also consider whether it has enough aircraft to train the first cadre of aircrew to fly the Sky Warden and set up a training pipeline….

SOCOM bought 16 Sky Wardens as of October 2023, and expects that number to rise to 28 aircraft by April 2024.

https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-24-106283

[Mil-26Man]

Why don't they call them a 'Skyraider 11' and have done with that?

Because there haven't been 10 Skyraiders before them.

[Rheinstorff]

And vice versa. Which will make surveillance and weapons employment difficult. Overwatch really has to be capable of going in harm's way.

I'm sure the Defensive Aid Suite protection has been considered as part of the design spec though as it's difficult to imagine that tactics alone will suffice.

[Lonewolf_50]

Because there haven't been 10 Skyraiders before them. Or they could call it Skyraider II. (Roman numeral 2, which I suspect is what was the intended suggestion). ;)

[Mil-26Man]

Or they could call it Skyraider II. (Roman numeral 2, which I suspect is what was the intended suggestion). ;)

Yes, it was a joke.