Air Force Special Operations Command’s newest airplane has been named the Skyraider II, a tribute to the legendary A-1 Skyraider, which saw service in Korea and Vietnam and was made famous by movies such as “We Were Soldiers” and “Flight of the Intruder.”
“I am excited about the Skyraider II, I think we have a capability that’s only ours, and we are going to have the ability to shape that into something that the rest of the nation might not even know they need right now,” Lt. Gen. Michael Conley, Air Force Special Operations commander, said in a statement.
The single-engine turboprop OA-1K Skyraider II is designed for short take offs and landings and to be able to operate from unimproved or austere airfields, an AFSOC news release says. The first Skyraider II is expected to arrive at Hurlburt Field, Florida in spring.
“The character of war is swiftly evolving and the modularity of the Skyraider II will provide special operations forces with the ability to tailor effects to support the joint force in various missions,” AFSOC public affairs said in a statement to Task & Purpose on Friday. “This aircraft may seem unassuming, but it could bring the warfighter precision target strikes as well as advanced armed intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance.”
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Air Force Special Operations Command Leadership announced the name for the OA-1K during the Special Air Warfare Symposium in Fort Walton Beach, Florida, Feb. 27, 2025. -
The moniker renews the versatile nature of the A-1 Skyraider, which operated from 1946 through the early 1980s. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Natalie Fiorilli. -
A Skyraider II is parked on the flightline at Hurlburt Field, Florida, Jan. 28, 2025. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Natalie Fiorilli. -
An OA-1K Skyraider II pilot conducts a walkaround on the flightline at Hurlburt Field, Florida, Jan. 28, 2025. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Natalie Fiorilli. -
An OA-1K Skyraider II pilot conducts a walkaround on the flightline at Hurlburt Field, Florida, Jan. 28, 2025. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Natalie Fiorilli.
Defense contractors Air Tractor and L3Harris received a $3 billion contract in August 2022 to produce modified AT-802U Sky Warden light attack aircraft for U.S. Special Operations Command’s Armed Overwatch program.
The Skyraider II will not only be able to carry out precision airstrikes to support troops on the ground, but it will also fly armed intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance missions, an AFSOC news release says.
“Providing scalable and precision effects is where the Skyraider II will come in. The Skyraider II could take on missions from the southwest border to Africa and create dilemmas to those we are in competition with,” Brig. Gen. Craig Prather, AFSOC’s director of strategic plans, programs and requirements, said in a statement.
The OA-1K is the latest aircraft to pay homage to a legendary plane. The A-10 Thunderbolt II gets its name from the P-47 from World War II, a rugged aircraft that provided close air support for American GIs and is credited with destroying more than 7,000 enemy aircraft in the European theater, more than half of which were air-to-air kills.
The F-35 Lightning II is likewise named for the P-38, a World War II aircraft that was used on a mission to kill Japanese Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, the mastermind behind the Pearl Harbor attack, in April 1943.
The original A-1 Skyraider saw service from 1946 to the early 1980s. The aircraft provided firepower to Air Command special operations during the Korean War. Later, Maj. Bernard Fisher and Lt. Col. William A Jones III were both awarded the Medal of Honor for flying missions in Skyraiders during the Vietnam War.