Meanwhile an L3Harris exec told Breaking Defense that US Special Operations Command could request more of the prop planes than originally planned.

Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC) has received its first five 0A-1K Skyraider II close air support prop planes, the first of what officials said they hope to be a fleet highly configurable plane for bespoke special missions.

“Once we field operational crews here in the next few years, I think we will find ways to employ it and maybe ways we’re not even thinking about yet,” AFSOC commander Lt. Gen. Michael Conley said at the SOF Week conference here in Tampa.

The five Skyraiders — two for missions and three for training — fall into the “strike portfolio” for US Special Operations Command’s Program Executive Office-Fixed Wing (PEO-FW), according to a PEO-FW official, who requested anonymity for security reasons.

“OA-1K Skyraider II is a modernized, cost-effective platform to perform the Armed Overwatch mission,” the PEO-FW official said. “Its ability to operate in austere environments provides operational flexibility and facilitates the ability to rapidly deploy to any emerging crisis."

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