18 'Swiss Army Knife' Turboprop Aircraft Join The US Air Force Fleet
The United States Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC) announced that the first 18 of 75 OA-1K Skyraider IIs have been delivered, according to Task and Purpose. The Skyraider, of course, carries on the namesake of the Vietnam War-era A-1 Skyraider.
Looking at the Skyraider II, you might have a lot of questions. What makes it so special? And why does it look like a cropduster? To answer the second question, the Skyraider II is based on the AT-802U from Air Tractor and then modified for combat by L3Harris. Air Tractor also manufactures, you guessed it, cropdusters.
The Skyraider II is a little hard to classify, and Air Tractor very explicitly notes that it is not a light attack plane like the Super Tucano. The Air Force says the Skyraider II is suited for "close air support, precision strike, or armed intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance," which is why it's sometimes referred to as a "Swiss Army Knife." It's also powered by a turboprop engine, rounding out the oddball factor.
Go anywhere, do anything
The OA-1K Skyraider II has only been with the Air Force since last year, making it one of the newest planes to join the fleet. It's powered by a Pratt and Whitney PT6A-67F turboprop that gives it 1,600 horsepower and a top speed of just over 245 miles per hour. The PT6A is a very common engine that's been used in dozens of small passenger and cargo planes, making maintenance and service inexpensive and straightforward.
For armaments, it has a total of 10 hard points to carry anything from rocket pods, machine guns, sensors, or surveillance equipment, for a total of 6,000 pounds. It can also be outfitted with a communications suite to interface with other friendly forces.
This week, the OA-1K Skyraider II demonstrated to officials that it can be loaded into other planes like the C-17 Globemaster III or C-5 Galaxy for deployment anywhere that has a runway long enough.