L3Harris delivers 18 Skyraider II aircraft, targets combat deployment in 2027
NewsMay 20, 2026
TAMPA, Florida. L3Harris Technologies has delivered 18 of its OA-1K Skyraider II armed overwatch aircraft to Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC), with the program now under contract for 45 aircraft and targeting combat deployment in the fourth quarter of calendar year 2027, Jason Lambert, ISR sector president for L3Harris, told reporters during SOF Week.
The delivery update marks steady progress since last year's SOF Week, when the company announced the first operational aircraft had reached Hurlburt Field. Lambert said 14 aircraft were delivered in the first government fiscal year, with 11 delivered this year on schedule. Aircraft are currently being delivered in a Block 1 configuration; a Block 2 upgrade will extend the operational ceiling to 25,000 feet by adding an engine inlet to handle icing conditions, with aircraft to be retrofitted before combat deployment.
On the program of record, Lambert confirmed the current funded number has changed, noting that the current FY27 budget and beyond is for 53 aircraft -- a dip from the 62 the company expected last year, which itself was down from the 75-aircraft program of record.
The aircraft have now accumulated over 8,000 flight hours across training and testing, and Lambert said a Hellfire missile fired the day before the event at Eglin Air Force Base hit its target as the company works through munitions certification.
Lambert outlined the aircraft's evolving mission set, which has expanded well beyond its original ISR, precision strike, and airborne controller roles. New missions under development include border security, signals intelligence -- demonstrated recently through a plug-and-play SIGINT pod integrated via the aircraft's modular open architecture -- counter-UAS, and maritime patrol. Future munitions integration includes the Red Wolf and Green Wolf airborne launched effects, which have ranges of 200 miles and carry kinetic and electronic attack payloads respectively, as well as the standoff precision-guided missile (SoPIGM) and a GAU-19 .50-caliber gun pod for international customers.
On the international front, Lambert said the company is actively marketing under the new "Skyraider II International" branding, with letters of request for pricing and availability coming from countries in Africa, the Middle East, South America, and Eastern Europe. He said sales can be structured as Foreign Military Sales, direct commercial sales, or a hybrid of both. The international variant differs from the AFSOC version primarily in radio fit, with USSOCOM-specific radios replaced by exportable alternatives.
Lambert suggested the OA-1K could serve as a successor to the retiring A-10, noting that a foreign government had recently sought to purchase A-10s from the U.S. government and was directed to look at the OA-1K instead. "It obviously doesn't have a 30-millimeter cannon on it, but in terms of the mission set it can do with a munitions package, it can do much of what an A-10 does," he said.
The acquisition cost for international customers is approximately $25 million per aircraft, with operating costs of under $1,000 per flight hour, he said.
Aircraft are being fielded at Will Rogers Air National Guard Base in Oklahoma City, Corlbert in Florida, and Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Arizona ahead of the combat deployment.
