A slowly moving airplane that is susceptible to advanced air defense systems may not be very useful in the Indo-Pacific region. Thankfully, the OA-1K offers great flexibility as an aircraft.
Last
month
, the Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC)
accepted
delivery of its first
OA-1K Skyraider II
, a propeller-driven light attack aircraft designed for close air support and ISR during counter-insurgency and other lower-intensity operations. But the Air Force is already looking ahead to whether or not the OA-1K can be adapted for wider application—and whether it will have any role in a great power conflict with China.
One Air Force official,
speaking
to
The War Zone
on the condition of remaining anonymous, indicated that the OA-1K’s function may undergo changes in the future.
“The way that the
OA-1K
will look on Day One is not how probably the OA-1K will look on Day 1,000,” the official said. “As we field it, it will continue to iterate based on the requirements that our supported forces articulate to us. We’re intimately involved with all of those forces, even as we speak, on shaping the initial and then also the growing requirements that I’m sure that we will find for that platform going forward.”
Adapting the OA-1K for the Future
The OA-1K represents the first propeller-driven attack airplane to be deployed since the A-1 Skyraider was retired in the 1970s, signaling five decades of predominant use of jet propulsion for the U.S. military’s fighter and attack planes.
Yet the Air Force felt the timing was appropriate for a propeller-driven renaissance. With the twenty-first century uptick in special operations due to the War on Terror, the Air Force wanted a heart aircraft capable of providing close air support and ISR—something capable of flying low and slow, taking off/landing from anywhere, and keeping costs down. The propeller-driven OA-1K was deemed the solution.
Ironically, the OA-1K may have entered service at precisely the wrong time. As the War on Terror winds down, U.S. strategy appears to be refocusing on great power conflict for the first time in a generation. With this in mind, a slow-moving plane vulnerable to sophisticated anti-air defenses is of questionable use—and Air Force officials are reconsidering the application of their new OA-1K fleet.
The OA-1K Could Serve Additional Purposes
Fortunately, the OA-1K is a versatile aircraft. According to the anonymous Air Force official, the OA-1K “was designed to be very flexible. A big element of the platform is, again, this notion of modularity, open systems architecture. What that does for us is, on a given mission, you might out certain types of capabilities [on the aircraft]—those could be ISR capabilities…strike capabilities—you may have more of one than the other, depending not on the day or the mission requirement of the supported force. But then the next day, that may change, and you can rapidly swap out what the capabilities are of the platform on a given mission.”
Will modularity allow the OA-1K to make a contribution in an Indo-Pacific based conflict? If U.S. intelligence projections, which suggest
Chinese
air defenses will become increasingly more sophisticated in the coming years, perhaps with anti-air missiles boasting a range of up to 1,000 miles, will non-stealth aircraft like the OA-1K survive?
Here, again, the OA-1K’s relative lack of sophistication comes in handy. “The OA-1K’s deployability and small operational footprint could help make it difficult for enemy forces to target,”
The War Zone
It has been reported that the aircraft may also serve as an effective tool for enhancing local security measures and monitoring capabilities at advance operational sites such as island bases. This could encompass activities like patrolling against drone intrusions.
Nevertheless, one thing appears certain: the OA-1K might not be utilized solely as intended at the time of procurement.
About the Author: Harrison Kass
Harrison Kass is a seasoned author focusing on defense and national security topics, having penned more than 1,000 articles addressing worldwide matters. Besides being a lawyer, aviator, musician, and former professional ice hockey player, Harrison began his military career in the U.S. Air Force as a Pilot Trainee before leaving due to health reasons. He earned his bachelor’s degree at Lake Forest College, his law degree from the University of Oregon, and his master’s from New York University. In his free time, Harrison enjoys listening to Dokken.
Image
: Wikimedia Commons.
