A crop duster that does electronic warfare. That sentence alone should tell you everything about where modern air combat is heading.

L3Harris Technologies has demonstrated signals intelligence (SIGINT) capability on the OA-1K Skyraider II — the militarized Air Tractor AT-802 that Air Force Special Operations Command selected for its Armed Overwatch program. Congress was so impressed it quadrupled the funding from $59.9 million to $279.9 million in the FY2027 defense authorization bill.

From Crop Duster to Electronic Warrior

The OA-1K starts life as an AT-802 — a rugged turboprop originally designed for agricultural spraying and firefighting. L3Harris transforms it into something considerably more lethal: a 1,600-horsepower Pratt & Whitney PT6A-powered platform that can haul over 6,000 pounds of weapons, loiter for six hours, and operate from austere airstrips that would swallow an F-35.

The SIGINT breakthrough came when L3Harris modified an existing sensor pod already mounted on the aircraft to incorporate signal intelligence capability. As VP Sean Ling told Air & Space Forces Magazine, the conversion was straightforward — the pod was “essentially modified to incorporate signal capability.” They have also integrated the Green Wolf electronic attack weapon and the Red Wolf low-cost cruise missile.

Congress Quadruples the Budget

The House Armed Services Committee’s FY2027 NDAA recommends boosting Skyraider funding from $59.9 million to $279.9 million — a nearly five-fold increase. AFSOC Commander Lt. Gen. Michael Conley sold lawmakers hard: the aircraft “could do exquisite signals intelligence, collect intel, and also be armed with up to 6,000 pounds of payload, whether that’s Hellfires, rockets, maybe some small cruise missiles.”

AFSOC wants 75 airframes total, though budget constraints had trimmed the buy to 53. With 18 already delivered and production running at L3Harris’s Waco, Texas facility, the congressional enthusiasm could restore the full buy. L3Harris is also pursuing more than three international customers.

The Ghost of the Original Skyraider

AFSOC named the OA-1K after the Douglas A-1 Skyraider — the Vietnam-era legend that was the last piston-engine attack aircraft in U.S. service. The original carried 8,000 pounds of ordnance on 15 hardpoints, could loiter for up to 10 hours, and earned legendary status in “Sandy” combat search and rescue missions. It was powered by a 2,700-horsepower Wright R-3350 radial engine — a proper piston beast.

The OA-1K is the first propeller-driven attack aircraft to join the U.S. Air Force since the A-1 was retired after Vietnam. The original could only watch and shoot. This one can listen to your communications, jam your radar, and then put a cruise missile through your window — all from a platform that costs a fraction of a fifth-generation fighter.

Sometimes the most dangerous thing in the sky is the one you underestimate.

Sources: Task & Purpose, The Aviationist, Shephard Media, Air Force Special Operations Command, L3Harris Technologies