L-3 Harris Sky Warden - USSOCOM Armed Overwatch

And todays buzz word bingo winner is!

“We want to deliver game-changing, modular solutions to U.S. special operators for their hardest missions, and Sky Warden does just that.”
"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,”
“We are ready now to begin work on this modern, multi-mission system for the SOCOM Armed Overwatch program.”
“The Sky Warden design reflects our commitment to America’s national security and the AT-802U will be equipped with everything we’ve learned manufacturing aircraft over the past 46 years,”
“The L3Harris team is an excellent partner, and our production and engineering staff are ready to immediately deliver this world-class product to our nation’s special forces.”
 
L-3 Harris Sky Warden (combo with AirTractor At-802) for USSOCOM Armed Overwatch program for sub Saharan continent

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TBT Paris Air Show 2017 and I wandered over to the L-3 chalet so here are pics of At-802 plus swag in the form of a bottle opener! Very useful for nights out! L_3 also had their ISTAR King Air 350 on there

cheers
 

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Diagrams of the "standard" payload options from the Air Tractor website (Sorry that the headings got lost -- the website wouldn't quite fit the whole image on my screen):

The Max Strike load is interesting, IMO. The LCLT-4 pods are quadruple Common Launch Tube pods, which you can see in the first photo in the thread. The unusual thing is that they have aft-facing tubes for launching/dropping glide weapons rather than ahead-fired missiles. But SOCOM has a lot of these sorts of weapons, so it fits their use case really well.

The Max ISR config is also a bit unusual. The MMSS Pod 1 config already includes two FLIR balls -- one MX-15, which I assume is for the pilot, and a larger MX-20, which is probably for the sensor operator. MMSS Pod 2 adds a second MX-20, presumably so the sensor operator can look off both sides of the aircraft track at once, and an I-Master radar for 360-degree radar coverage. Plus ESM/SIGINT in another pod. And a pair of Hellfire/JAGM for "see something, kill something."

Edit: fixed something -- I had forgotten that this plane actually has an onboard SENSO seat.
 

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If one is operating in a low intensity environment in a COIN style role this makes more sense than an A-10.
 
GTX said:
If one is operating in a low intensity environment in a COIN style role this makes more sense than an A-10.
Click to expand...

It's especially tailored for ops in places where SOF are operating without any conventional forces present. So, mainly Sub-Saharan Africa or possibly parts of Asia (the Philippines has been mentioned).
 
I think it's an outstanding design but a lot of those ops request something that can transit to the operating area (and back to reload) fast. I am not convinced that SOC got this here.
Also, what about takeoff limitations with all that much vaunted war load?
 
TomcatViP said:
I think it's an outstanding design but a lot of those ops request something that can transit to the operating area (and back to reload) fast. I am not convinced that SOC got this here.
Also, what about takeoff limitations with all that much vaunted war load?
Click to expand...

From the manufacturer, with the heaviest "surveillance & weapons load," gross weight is 14,500 lbs (6,600 kg) and the takeoff run is 1,400 ft (426 m). They are not proposing to load it out wall-to-wall as a general rule.

i don't see the need to transit back and forth rapidly to reload. This aircraft is meant to support a SOF raiding operational concept. So it needs to get in ahead of the helos (or trucks), orbit while SOF do their thing, then cover the extraction. It is not doing a cab rank loiter for on-call CAS during a prolonged battle.

PS: we have a dedicated thread for this aircraft. Wondering if we should pull some of the armed overwatch conversation there instead.

 
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1400ft is indeed a good performance, loaded (slightly longer that the usual smaller airfield length). I do agree with the mission profile but when you have a problem, it can be necessary to reload. That's where a faster transit speed is a good to have performance.
 
GTX said:
Given its crop duster roots, I always find this platform slightly amusing: “…got a real bad bug infestation in the south field…”:D
Click to expand...
That was the CIA's line when they were running Southern Air Transport and Intermountain (and other) flights into Africa. Pesticides and fertilizer.

Ground crews stateside would quip about the big locusts when planes came back with holes. Lost two or three.
 
Josh_TN said:
Really beefy MTOW/warload for such a small craft.
Click to expand...

Not that small. But the real game changer is the availability of really light PGMs. That makes it possible to match or exceed the aimpoints struck of a big CAS airplane like the A-10 in a fraction of the weight.
 
aonestudio said:
airtractor.com

L3Harris and Air Tractor Sky Warden Team Selected for USSOCOM Armed Overwatch Contract

Highlights: MELBOURNE, Fla. — U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) has selected L3Harris Technologies (NYSE:LHX) and Air Tractor Inc.’s AT-802U Sky Warden™ system for its Armed...
airtractor.com airtractor.com
Click to expand...

It's interesting that the photos and loadout diagrams seem to show only stand-off weapons and not the multi-barreled .50 cal gun pods that were often featured in earlier promotional material. That's smart since it keeps the plane and crew further away from bad guys shooting back, but there will certainly be a temptation to put some sort of gun on it.
 
cluttonfred said:
aonestudio said:
airtractor.com

L3Harris and Air Tractor Sky Warden Team Selected for USSOCOM Armed Overwatch Contract

Highlights: MELBOURNE, Fla. — U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) has selected L3Harris Technologies (NYSE:LHX) and Air Tractor Inc.’s AT-802U Sky Warden™ system for its Armed...
airtractor.com airtractor.com
Click to expand...

It's interesting that the photos and loadout diagrams seem to show only stand-off weapons and not the multi-barreled .50 cal gun pods that were often featured in earlier promotional material. That's smart since it keeps the plane and crew further away from bad guys shooting back, but there will certainly be a temptation to put some sort of gun on it.
Click to expand...

I think this is part of the pivot from the USAF Light Attack experiment to the SOCOM Armed Overwatch program. They have different requirements.

The light attack aircraft, named Longsword, had a very different loadouts -- smaller fuelage-mounted FLIR ball, gun pods, more dumb ordnance.

802u.com

AT-802L Longsword™ in USAF Light Attack Experiment - Air Tractor® AT-802U

In 2017, the AT-802L Longsword™ was one of only four aircraft that met rigorous U.S. Air Force criteria required to participate in the Light Attack Experiment (OA-X) at Holloman Air Force Base in New Mexico. This places the AT-802L in a unique category of platforms that can support partner...
802u.com 802u.com
 
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www.moog.com

Moog Inc. to Support L3Harris and Air Tractor Sky Warden Team on USSOCOM Armed Overwatch Program

Moog Inc. (NYSE: MOG.A and MOG.B) announced today that L3Harris Technologies has selected Moog’s Space and Defense segment to provide its weapon Stores Management System (SMS) in support of the U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) Armed Overwatch Program.
www.moog.com www.moog.com
militaryembedded.com

Controls system from Moog chosen by L3Harris to equip Special Ops aircraft - Military Embedded Systems

EAST AURORA, N.Y. Moog Inc. announced that L3Harris Technologies chose its Moog Space and Defense segment to provide a weapon Stores Management System (SMS) in support of the U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) Armed Overwatch Program.
militaryembedded.com militaryembedded.com
EAST AURORA, N.Y. – Oct 18, 2022 – Moog Inc. (NYSE: MOG.A and MOG.B) announced today that L3Harris Technologies has selected Moog’s Space and Defense segment to provide its weapon Stores Management System (SMS) in support of the U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) Armed Overwatch Program.

The flexible design of the SMS enables rapid integration and future upgrades to the sensors, avionics, and weapons ensuring value for future mission requirements in response to rapidly evolving threats. The Moog weapon SMS Armed Overwatch solution set entails the following:

- Enhanced Stores Management Computer (E-SMC)
- Stores Interface Unit (SIU)
- Remote Power Unit (RPU-6)
- Dual Rail Launcher (DRL) for HELLFIRE® Missile

The SMS equipment will be manufactured by Moog’s Integrated Defense Systems business in Orlando, Florida. Production of new, fully modified Armed Overwatch mission-configured aircraft will begin in 2023 at L3Harris’ Tulsa, Oklahoma modification center.
Click to expand...
Moog-AT802SMS-Datasheet_Page1.jpg
Moog-AT802SMS-Datasheet_Page2.jpg
 
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aim9xray said:
Air Tractor AT-802U receives designation of OA-1K. Really?
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Oh, FFS! Go home Air Force, you're drunk.

Of course it should have been the OA-14A but someone in the program probably decided that they wanted to "honor" the old AD Skyraider, which acquired the A-1 designation in the great 1962 redesignation. There were variants up to A-1J (the AD-7) so someone knew that they were doing it wrong, but only enough to insist that this totally unrelated A-1 aircraft start as the A-1K.

We should just shut down the nomenclature office at this point. Because clearly the program offices will do whatever the hell they want.
 
Speaking of which, Paris Air Show 2017 I popped by the L-3 chalet and here are my photos of their armed Airtractor

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26240450_10156429442551490_2356399116923557246_o.jpg

26233461_10156429443276490_1001074249851469150_o.jpg


cheers
 
Wasn't interest in this concept kicked off with the start of the war in Afghanistan almost 23 years ago? I think there were some buys of comparable designs for the now-extinct AAF and maybe they were put to some use, but it just seems absurd that two decades later they introduce these after a withdraw of NATO forces and most of the international world from Afghanistan. Talk about being a day late and dollar short. Same with the USAF's light attack experiment effort that went nowhere beyond some testing.
 

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