U.S. Special Operations Command is once again slowing its purchases of the new OA-1K Skyraider II multipurpose counterinsurgency plane, as the Pentagon pivots its budget to prepare for a high-end conflict following two decades of wars in the Middle East.
armed overwatch
The first batch of instructor pilots on one of the Air Force’s newest airframes are piling on the flight hours as they prepare to welcome their own students next fiscal year.
About a month away from its arrival, the Air Force named an upcoming light attack and observation aircraft after an iconic Cold War-era close air support platform.
Air Force Special Operations Command will find ways to use the OA-1K Armed Overwatch plane in great power competition, commander Lt. Gen. Michael E. Conley said this week, amid questions about the fleet’s size and utility in a changing strategic environment.
Budget documents indicate U.S. Special Operations Command is cutting back on its plans for Armed Overwatch, the rugged, lightweight, fixed-wing aircraft to support counterterrorism efforts in permissive airspace. According to SOCOM’s 2025 budget request released earlier this month, the combatant command is trimming its planned ...
The Air Force officially unveiled plans Aug. 2 for its 492nd Power Projection Wing that will replace the A-10 mission at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Ariz. The new Air Force Special Operations Command wing will consist of units relocated from around the country, all under the ...
Sky Warden, the modified crop-duster U.S. Special Operations Command picked as the winner of its Armed Overwatch competition, has entered low-rate initial production, and the first aircraft is scheduled to be delivered in October, a SOCOM spokesman told Air & Space Forces Magazine. The combatant command ...
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In Sky Warden, AFSOC gains a flexible new hunter-killer.
Just over two years ago, the Air Force announced it was buying limited quantities of Textron’s AT-6s and Sierra Nevada Corp.’s A-29s. Now, the service is seemingly set to get rid of the aircraft, most likely in the form of a foreign military sale. Should ...
U.S. Special Operations Command has awarded a contract for its Armed Overwatch program, selecting L3 Harris Technologies’ AT-802U Sky Warden as the winner of its competition for a low-cost aircraft to fly surveillance and strikes in austere locations. The deal could be worth up to ...
A contract award for U.S. Special Operations Command’s Armed Overwatch program is likely coming before the end of the summer, the head of Air Force Special Operations Command told Congress. Lt. Gen. James C. “Jim” Slife also countered opposition to the platform, saying it will ...
