Posted on 04/04/2025 3:31:01 PM PDT by Macho MAGA Man
Air Force Special Operations Command marked a new chapter with its latest aircraft April 3 when the first Skyraider II fully modified for military use arrived at Hurlburt Field, Fla.
A modified crop duster, the OA-1K will provide airborne eyes, ears, and precision fires to support ground troops in permissive airspace, just as its namesake, the A-1 Skyraider, did in the Korean and Vietnam Wars.
AFSOC commander Lt. Gen. Michael Conley said at the welcoming ceremony that the aircraft’s small maintenance footprint and ease of swapping out sensors, weapons, and communications equipment will play a key role in future conflicts.
“Skyraider II represents not just a new platform, but a modular solution to our national security needs,” he said, according to a press release. “It will redefine how we approach joint campaigning, crisis response and the evolving landscape of modern warfare.”
(Excerpt) Read more at airandspaceforces.com ...
Seems to me that a high wing, twin boom, twin engine with a centrally mounted gun would have a lot going for it.
Correct!
But you may lose the pilot and that was one of the main reasons for getting rid of the A10s - too dangerous for the pilot.
The crop duster is not consistent with the military's opposition to the “low-slow” A10s.
It probably doesn't make sense to retool to make more A10s; it makes more sense to extend the life of the A10s now in use - the way we extend the lives of the vintage B52s.
It also comes with a sticker price of 40 million bucks an aircraft .
Kind of puts things into perspective for those who profess sticker shock at the 82 million dollar a ship price tag for the F35
I just object to the name. This looks like a toy compared to the A1 Skyraider. I loved that plane. It reminded me of an updated P47 Thunderbolt; ol’ Jug.
Strawberry 🍓 One. “Main body”
That thing is too cool!
Wow! Does the fuselage section forward of the wing look like a good, old North American P-51 Mustang or not?
p
Looks like something thats the offspring of wwii german and american fighters.
Youre confusing destroyers for battleships and tanks for transports.
I recall watching the original Skyraiders. They reminded my of bumble bees. They were so loaded with munitions in was unbelievable. I heard tales that if the throttle was cracked too hard the torque could make the pilot lose control.
And I watched them do strafing runs. Something I will never ever forget. To this day a crop duster with a radial engine doing runs on a crop reminds me of the A1E.
We had Boeing re-wing the A-10, but that’s only going to go so far - not least of which because Fairchild (the original manufacturer) doesn’t exist any more and all tooling was destroyed by order of Congress.
One thing you seem to be missing here is that this is for *low* intensity combat, in this case, specifically in support of special operations. Light support aircraft like this are intended to be airliftable and provide air support to small spec-ops teams. These Skyraider IIs can be taken down, stuffed in a C-17, airlifted around the world, deployed near where they need to be, and then be quickly launched to provide support for said teams. Moving a couple of A-10s is going to provide lots and lots and lots of notice.
For that matter, you can fit a couple of these things in a conex or semi trailer with the wings removed, truck them to where they needs to go, have a second truck load them with bombs and you’ve got surprise air support for your spec ops. Moving A-10s around the world is blatantly obvious and easily tracked. Moving these? Not so much.
These are not intended for tankbusting like the A-10s are.
Not to put too fine a point on this but can't helicopters be transported in cargo planes and used to support special operations? Drones too as far as that goes.
Maybe if it works the Air Force will eventually order a jet-powered, two engine low and slow armored airplane with lots of dwell time to support people on the ground.
A prop plane? Easy to shoot out of the air.
I believe the total aerial kills from A-10 pilots are two Iraqi helicopters in 1991. That's hardly the record of a fighter plane.
“Not to put too fine a point on this but can’t helicopters be transported in cargo planes and used to support special operations? Drones too as far as that goes.”
Helicopters with their rotors dismounted take ages to put the rotor blades back on and are both noisy, obvious and shortranged unless you are risking the super stealthy Blackhawks... which also point right back to US involvement if they are seen. These are faster to deploy, much quieter, easier to sanitize and if someone sees one, well, it’s just a crop-duster at a distance and cropdusters are everywhere.
The comparable size helicopter would be a MD Helicopters Defender 500, and it can’t carry nearly as much, nor is it as fast or long ranged.
The drones you mentioned have just been shown to have problems - a high flying drone is easily detected and hit by SAM systems from the required radio link it has to have. Note all the ones the Houthis have shot down lately. FYI, this thing is cheaper than a Reaper drone, IIRC. And no, the drones can’t carry as much ordnance (and do you really want a hackable heavily armed autonomous platform running around in someone’s back country?)
An A-10 cannot be easily packed into a C-17 or a civilian air freighter and covertly deployed.
Specifically:
MD500E performance figures: 132kts top speed, 318nmi range, maxes out at 3000lbs load at takeoff, 3500 if you want to overload it and have it barely climb.
AT-802U performance: 213kts top speed, 1300nmi range, can lift 8,164lbs even in its heaviest armored configuration.
There’s more than a bit of a performance difference there for something that’s about the same size package.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1oEcf9vbzys
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=osdQlAZZSTk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KnIl-qzS6EE
I have not advocated an “autonomous platform”; so far as I know drones have one or more humans in the loop. Your argument about autonomous is something of a straw man.
You seem committed to the low-slow propeller concept and that is fine. Nothing wrong with having a well-informed opinion - and your opinion does seem to be well-informed.
There is something immensely compelling about dusting off vintage technology and making it hammer a persistent nail. I have said on this forum we need two divisions of horse cavalry on the Mexican border; and I'm somewhat serious.
The OA-1K is an upgraded, more expensive, slower P-51 with airbags to help the pilot survive being shot down.
It might work.
More like a scout plane.The Skyraiders that were on the Lake
Champlain(CVA-39) were a lot Beefier !
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.