Photo: L3Harris
About a year ago, we learned about an agricultural aircraft getting ready to go to war, an evolution of an otherwise benign bird. You see, back in 2008, Air Tractor’s peaceful AT-802 got a military version, the AT-802U, a version which, in 2021, landed in the hangars of defense contractor L3Harris, from where it came out the other end as the much more aggressive Sky Warden. A beast that is now ready to enter military service.
The airplane is a short takeoff and landing-capable machine, made with a single goal in mind: intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR). It’s designed to operate in “austere, challenged, combat environments with limited infrastructure,” making use of up to 6,000-lb (2,720-kg) of combat payload.
This week, we learned the U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) chose the Sky Warden for the Armed Overwatch program – that would be the quest for 75 manned, fixed-wing aircraft that can be deployed both for ISR and for irregular warfare, close air support, precision strike, strike coordination and forward air control.
As part of the deal with the military, six new Wardens will be delivered as the low-rate initial production. L3Harris will start modifying the airplane it showed last year into the production configuration, and within six months (most likely by the end of 2022), it expects to have a weapon system testing prototype ready to go.
“Sky Warden will bring powerful and affordable close air support, precision strike, armed ISR, and command and control capabilities directly to special operations forces in the battlefield,” said Sean Stackley, President, Integrated Mission Systems, L3Harris. “We are ready now to begin work on this modern, multi-mission system for the SOCOM Armed Overwatch program.”
The price of each Sky Warden was not disclosed, but Armed Overwatch has a cost ceiling of $3 billion.
This week, we learned the U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) chose the Sky Warden for the Armed Overwatch program – that would be the quest for 75 manned, fixed-wing aircraft that can be deployed both for ISR and for irregular warfare, close air support, precision strike, strike coordination and forward air control.
As part of the deal with the military, six new Wardens will be delivered as the low-rate initial production. L3Harris will start modifying the airplane it showed last year into the production configuration, and within six months (most likely by the end of 2022), it expects to have a weapon system testing prototype ready to go.
“Sky Warden will bring powerful and affordable close air support, precision strike, armed ISR, and command and control capabilities directly to special operations forces in the battlefield,” said Sean Stackley, President, Integrated Mission Systems, L3Harris. “We are ready now to begin work on this modern, multi-mission system for the SOCOM Armed Overwatch program.”
The price of each Sky Warden was not disclosed, but Armed Overwatch has a cost ceiling of $3 billion.
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