The US Special Operations Command spent $3 billion to buy 75 "spraying pesticides" fighters, but now it has to take responsibility!
In the past year, the US Special Operations Command spent $3 billion to purchase 75 OA-1K "Armed Watcher" fighters from the L3 company for spraying on farmland, and then transformed them into light assault combat reconnaissance aircraft, which can take off from airstrips, have certain combat capabilities, and stay for a long time.
However, the responsible departments of the United States do not think so, they feel that there is no point in the special operations command to buy such aircraft, and they blindly set prices without sufficient investigation and evaluation, and do not take into account the impact on the aviation market caused by the withdrawal of the United States from Afghanistan. The responsible management agency is proposing that the Special Operations Command slow down purchases, limit spending to less than $2 billion, and reduce the number of aircraft in line with specific missions.
After receiving the report from the Office of Responsibility, the U.S. Department of Defense said it would take those comments and make amendments.
The United States will no longer have 75 "spraying pesticides" fighters, and the special operations command will not be able to continue to "make money".
Speaking of which, the origin of this fighter is quite interesting, the civilian version of the model is the AT-802 "Sky Tractor", developed by the Air Tractor company in the nineties, mainly for agricultural use, and occasionally for firefighting, and has sold more than 1,000 units. Later, L3 noticed the fighter and thought that it was a fighter that could be used as a fighter, so it added a layer of armor to the fuselage, added a gun, and added a missile, becoming the "Sky Guardian" of the AT-802U.
at-802u"Sky Guardian"It is the world's largest single-engine turbopropeller airliner, with a maximum take-off weight of 725 tons with a load of 36 tons, the full range of fuel is 2413 km, and the top speed is 394 km. The cockpit is similar to that of the A-10 attack aircraft, is bullet-proof, and is equipped with a steel "roll cage" that protects the pilot. Moreover, the take-off and landing capabilities of the aircraft are also excellent, and it can fly on flat roads, whether in deserts, meadows, jungles. In addition, its firepower is also very strong, with 8 plug-in compartments under the fuselage and two plug-in compartments in the belly, which can be loaded with all kinds of missiles, bombs and rockets, equipped with self-carried artillery, from 12From 7 mm to 20 mm, it can be replaced at will, with a supply of 600 rounds. It is powerful enough to easily destroy all enemies on land. The strongest feature is its flight time, which can be up to eight hours and six hours at maximum load, which is extremely important for the special operations forces, as they can be on the scene at any time to provide them with fire and information.
The U.S. Air Force has launched the "Armed Guardian" project since 2020, intending to purchase a batch of light assault combat reconnaissance drones to replace the original civilian airliner PC-12, which is a civilian airliner, and it has been upgraded in a short period of time, which is neither very professional nor very cheap. The U.S. Air Force originally planned to buy a light fighter with excellent performance as the Brazilian A-29, but it was opposed by the Beechcraft company, although the Beechcraft company also had the idea of **AT-6E, but the U.S. Air Force was not interested in it. In the end, the U.S. Air Force chose the AT-802U produced by L3 company, renamed OA-1K, and planned to purchase 75 units, spending three billion US dollars, equivalent to 40 million US dollars, equivalent to the unit price of F16.
Besides, now that the terrorist attacks are no longer so serious, even the United States has withdrawn from Afghanistan, why do you need so many spiral-wing fighters? The Air Force also plans to retire the A-10 fighter, which is a fighter with a higher flight speed than the AT-802U, and the US Air Force wants to destroy all these equipment, which is too nonsense!