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Spicy Take: OA-1A
Right now within the beltway, the Pacific is THE THING. Small wars are old news “We’ll never do that again.”
My (personal) opinion, OA-1A crews are going to see a ton of action fighting the small wars of the next two decades while 5th gen will deter the big war without firing a shot.
If I wanted adventure: I’d take a skywarden.
But change my mind! Is the OA-1A a solution to yesterday’s problem?
Hit my smoke!
Husky
twz.com
AT-802U Trainers Arrive To Prepare USAF Aviators For A Murky Light Attack Future
The first OA-1K light attack planes are set to be delivered this year as attention shifts away from the operations they were designed for.
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5 Replies
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The Sky Warden looks like a huge asset going forward. Everything from ISR, FAC-A, to CAS, and even Search and Rescue is within the weel house, similar to the Cessna 0-2 Sky Masters back in Vietnam. With the high loitering time, relatively low cost per hour to fly, and capabilities; Sky Warden Air Crews are likely to get a LOT of fling time. If America does engage in similar conflicts to the last 20 years, the Sky Masters will likely take up many of the taskings that would have gone to the F-18s, F-15Es, F-16s, and A-10s. We burnt out a lot of hours on those platforms over the sand, hours that I would assume strategic planners would task to the crop duster of death going forward.
Having diverse and specialized platforms to attack the next threat, regardless of conflict size is a winning formula. The Sky Warden is looking to be another great tool in the belt!
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Looks like it can carry the LAU-131 rocket pod so it can probably shoot the AGR-20 laser rocket – which is of my all time favorites.
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Hi,
Awesome topic. I was reading about the Sky warden. Sounds like a really interesting platform. Are they or will they be used by ANG or reserves at all? Thanks.
Best,
Rowan
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Certainly! The schoolhouse is OKANG.
It will be interesting to see the ‘ops’ layout. There are a few ARC special ops wings – those wings might get OA-1Ks or the USAF might consolidate them in one or two bases. Elgin? Cannon? Davis Montham?
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Thanks! I will add that to the list of units to research. Currently, fighting the good fight to join an ANG unit. Fortunately, I love a good challenge, haha.
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