AFSOC still wants 75 light attack aircraft despite Congress’ doubts

The Air Force’s special operators trimmed the number of light attack planes they’re asking for after Congress looked askance. But they still need them, the commander of Air Force Special Operations Command said Wednesday.

“Our requirement still remains 75” OA-1K aircraft to fight extremist groups or other low-tech adversaries, AFSOC commander Lt. Gen. Michael E. Conley told reporters at the AIr-Space-Cyber conference outside Washington. “It is possible that we don't buy those 75 in the same timeframe that we wanted to, but that's still our requirement.”

In 2020, AFSOC launched its quest for a small propeller-driven attack plane for close air support and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions. Dubbed Armed Overwatch, the program aimed to buy 75 planes by 2029 for just $2 billion (a ceiling of $3 billion,) a fraction of the cost of larger aircraft. AFSOC eventually chose the OA-1K, a crop-duster made by Air Tractor and given sensors and a gun by L3Harris.

But the program has since drawn fire from lawmakers who wonder about the planes’ utility. 

“Congress has expressed concerns about the Armed Overwatch program. It has delayed the reprogramming of funds for the aircraft and required the Department of Defense to provide information about its plans,” GAO said in a report this month. 

In March, AFSOC cut the number it was acquiring from 75 to 62. But AFSOC still hasn’t justified why it needs 75 light attack aircraft, planes that would be relatively useless in a fight with an adversary like China, with advanced air defenses and fighter jets. 

Said GAO: “We found that SOCOM was limited in its ability to justify the acquisition of the Armed Overwatch aircraft for three reasons. First, because SOCOM decided on the size of the fleet before conducting required analyses. Second, SOCOM did not assess how changes in the aircraft’s capabilities could affect the number needed for operations. And third, that SOCOM has not reevaluated its needs despite changes to operational missions.”

On Wednesday, Conley said, “I think from when OA-1k was conceptualized and decided on until now, the world's changed a little bit…I think it still provides a cost effective close air support platform, which is one of the missions that it was designed for.” 

AFSOC is still digesting the GAO report but “Our requirement still remains 75,” based on a Capability Development Document AFSOC has created, he said. 

Conley said that while the Defense Department remains highly focused on buying weapons to deter China, the world is more chaotic today than many experts thought it would be a few years ago. He said continued turmoil and ongoing operations in the Middle East show that low-tech extremist groups continue to be a threat, despite the Pentagon’s hopes of moving focus to the Pacific. 

“I tell my team every day, the Pacific is incredibly important to us for all the reasons…China, China, China. We get it. But we've also got the rest of the world,” he said. “I don't think we're done in CENTCOM. As a nation, I don’t think we’re done in CENTCOM.”. 

Conley cautioned against drawing conclusions about the utility of low-tech attack aircraft based on present-day capabilities. Such assumptions overlook the sort of rapid adaptation that might make such aircraft more useful against a wider variety of missions. 

“You know, we're a command that took an AC-130 or a C-47 and put guns on the side, or the command that put jets on a C-130 to try to get it out of the stadium in Iran. That's our DNA. And I think once we get the aircraft and we start flying our crew members and our maintainers will figure out novel ways that will be relevant in the future fight as well as the current one.”