A modified single engine air tanker
Now that the Air Force has agreed to purchase up to 75 Air Tractor 802U Sky Warden aircraft, one of their most important tasks is to develop a plan on how to train nearly 200 pilots to staff the fleet.
U.S. Special Operations Command has awarded a $3 billion contract to L3Harris Technologies to build up to 75 Sky Wardens. They expect to begin delivery in fiscal year 2026 with full operating capability in 2029.
Military to purchase Air Tractor 802s capable of carrying weapons and surveillance equipment
The basic aircraft, AT 802U, will be built by Air Tractor at their Olney, Texas aircraft manufacturing facility. L3Harris Technologies will add the additional equipment beginning in 2023 at their Tulsa, Oklahoma modification center.
L3Harris said the Sky Warden will provide close air support, precision strike, armed intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR), strike coordination, and forward air controller requirements for use in austere and permissive environments.
From an article at Yahoo News:
Air Education and Training Command, Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC), and L3Harris are working on a syllabus that will guide airmen through the intricacies of tail-wheel flight. That syllabus will determine the length of each armed overwatch training class, Heyse said.
The Air Force expects to run tests on the airframe until summer 2024, and have its instructors trained to teach students by fall 2025. AFSOC is considering training test pilots and instructors on commercial tail-wheel aircraft before they progress to the OA-1K itself.
It plans to bring in nearly 200 pilots to staff the fleet.
“The formal training unit plans to start training new OA-1K crews in the fall of 2025,” AFSOC spokesperson Lt. Col. Becky Heyse said. “Safety is our top priority, and we are dedicated to ensuring our crews receive the right training.”
The Air Force hasn’t decided where to base the OA-1K schoolhouse, though one option may be to pair it with other aviation training at Hurlburt. Hosting armed overwatch courses in the Florida Panhandle would give airmen access to the vast test and training range that stretches over the Gulf of Mexico.
