L3Harris Applied sciences, producer of the U.S. Particular Operations Command’s (SOCOM) latest gentle assault and intelligence plane, the OA-1K Skyraider II, is increasing manufacturing to fulfill present and future demand, even because the plane faces a shifting acquisition path. In actual fact, whereas the corporate just lately opened a brand new manufacturing hangar in Waco, Texas, to speed up deliveries, SOCOM has once more decreased its annual procurement, reflecting an ongoing debate over the plane’s long-term position.
L3Harris Expands Waco Manufacturing Hub
On Aug. 27, 2025, L3Harris introduced the opening of an expanded manufacturing facility for the OA-1K Skyraider II at its Waco, Texas, website. The brand new hangar, outfitted with superior manufacturing instruments and streamlined processes, will function the central hub for the Skyraider II program.
Massive milestone in Waco: Our upgraded hangar is now totally operational and constructing the OA-1K Skyraider II for @AFSpecOpsCmd. Learn extra: pic.twitter.com/howfkIXhOD
— L3Harris (@L3HarrisTech) August 27, 2025
Based on the corporate, the positioning is designed to reinforce manufacturing effectivity, assist fast upgrades, and speed up plane testing. Plane inductions are already underway, with the primary deliveries from the brand new hangar anticipated this fall. L3Harris additionally confirmed that it’s delivering Skyraider II plane on a month-to-month foundation to fulfill program necessities.
“This hangar brings collectively the expertise and expertise wanted to quickly advance the Skyraider II mission and ship the OA-1K plane,” stated Jason Lambert, President of Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance at L3Harris, within the firm’s press launch. He emphasised that the Waco facility has already supported prototype growth, flight testing, and FAA certification, making it uniquely positioned to proceed this system.
Texas lawmakers welcomed the growth, highlighting each its financial and strategic implications. Congressman Pete Classes (R-Texas) stated the funding demonstrated Waco’s position as a worldwide aerospace hub. “The innovation going down right here in Central Texas won’t solely revolutionize developments on the battlefield, but in addition strengthen our native economic system,” he famous.
The Waco website, which has greater than 4 a long time of expertise in plane missionization, is anticipated to assist not solely U.S. Air Pressure Particular Operations Command (AFSOC) but in addition allied clients who might procure the Skyraider II sooner or later.
SOCOM Reduces Close to-Time period Procurement
Regardless of the economic growth, SOCOM has as soon as once more scaled again its deliberate annual buys of the OA-1K. As reported by Air & House Forces Journal, the command intends to buy solely six plane in Fiscal 12 months 2026, down from the beforehand deliberate 12. This follows an earlier discount in fiscal 2025, when procurement already dropped from 15 to 12 plane.
“OA-1K plane procurement has been decreased as a result of useful resource constraints,” stated SOCOM spokesperson Lt. Cmdr. Kassie Collins. The command’s total program of report, nevertheless, stays 75 plane.
OA-1K Skyraider II
The OA-1K Skyraider II, developed from the Air Tractor AT-802U cropduster and militarized by L3Harris beneath the “Sky Warden” proposal, was chosen because the winner of SOCOM’s Armed Overwatch program in 2022. The plane is designed to conduct gentle assault, shut air assist, and intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) missions. Its modular design permits crews to swap out sensors, communications suites, and payloads relying on mission necessities.
Procured by SOCOM however operated by Air Pressure Particular Operations Command, the OA-1K can also be supposed to leverage sources freed up by the retirement of the U-28 Draco (a Pilatus PC-12 variant) and MC-12W Liberty (a modified Beechcraft King Air). Nevertheless, SOCOM has harassed that the OA-1K is just not a one-for-one substitute, however slightly a versatile platform for quite a lot of missions.
As of mid-2025, eight plane had been delivered to AFSOC, with six extra anticipated by 12 months’s finish. Regardless of delays from the unique 2023 timeline, this system stays on schedule to realize Preliminary Operational Functionality (IOC) by the top of fiscal 2026.
Strategic and Budgetary Headwinds
The OA-1K acquisition cuts spotlight the broader budgetary pressures going through SOCOM and the Division of Protection. Over the previous two years, the Pentagon has more and more shifted sources towards making ready for high-end battle situations, notably within the Indo-Pacific area, lowering emphasis on platforms tailor-made for counterinsurgency operations.
A December 2023 Authorities Accountability Workplace (GAO) report questioned whether or not SOCOM’s projected $2 billion Armed Overwatch program was appropriately sized for present and future necessities. The watchdog really useful a considerably smaller fleet, arguing that the command had not sufficiently analyzed how the U.S. navy’s altering international posture ought to have an effect on procurement.
SOCOM initially supposed to amass 75 plane, however its fiscal 2025 price range submission decreased the deliberate fleet to 62. With the brand new cuts for FY2026, solely 45 plane will probably be on contract by 2028, and future procurement plans past that stay unclear.
AFSOC management has acknowledged these challenges. Lt. Gen. Michael Conley, commander of AFSOC, informed lawmakers in early 2025 that, whereas demand for Air Commandos continues to exceed ranges seen through the peak of the World Struggle on Terror, sustaining technological relevance stays tough.
“My concern is that by the point we get a fleet of fifty plane of any taste up to date to the place they should be, the expertise’s already irrelevant,” Conley stated in testimony earlier than the Home Armed Providers Committee. He famous that whereas new techniques and coaching can mitigate some limitations, modernization stays essential.
Balancing World Missions
Regardless of the procurement slowdown, AFSOC leaders argue that the OA-1K stays a vital functionality for missions outdoors the Indo-Pacific. Conley emphasised that whereas the Indo-Pacific theater is a significant precedence, AFSOC should additionally preserve the power to function globally.
“We get it. However we’ve additionally obtained the rest-of-the-world mission that I’m chargeable for, as nicely, and I need to have all of the playing cards I can play to battle wherever they want us to,” he stated in 2024.
Conley additionally argued that the command is already stretched skinny, referring to the surge within the demand for Air Commandos. “We commit nearly one hundred pc of our forces in every deployment cycle,” he stated. “There’s no extra left.”
For now, the OA-1K stays on monitor to realize IOC inside the deliberate timeline, with authorities verification testing, operator coaching, and techniques growth underway. SOCOM officers preserve that the plane will present AFSOC with a flexible, cost-effective device for quite a lot of mission units, whilst procurement charges fluctuate.
