L3Harris Technologies and Air Tractor announce Sky Warden aircraft
Sky Warden is based on the rugged and capable Air Tractor AT-802, which features the largest payload capacity of any single turbo engine aircraft. (Photo: L3Harris Technologies)
L3Harris Technologies and Air Tractor have announced a collaboration to produce the AT-802U Sky Warden aircraft.
Sky Warden is an affordable, production-ready aircraft designed for airborne ISR and other missions in extreme combat environments.
The aircraft is based on the rugged Air Tractor AT-802, which features the largest payload capacity of any single-engine turboprop aircraft.
It is equipped with L3Harris’ family of communications, sensors and airborne ISR solutions. The platform is backed by the company’s turnkey ISR operation experience.
The multi-mission platform provides the operator agility and flexibility to identify, track and react to counter threats.
It combines the capabilities of larger ISR with that of armed aircraft.
It is capable of takeoff and landing on unimproved airstrips, allowing the aircraft to be deployed and co-located with special mission operators.
President of Air Tractor, Jim Hirsch commented ‘Air Tractor aircraft were developed precisely to operate in austere environments with limited infrastructure’.
Sky Warden combines the heritage of the A-1E Sky Raider and the U-28, which uses the callsign ‘Warden’, to collapse the stack, providing one aircraft capable of multiple mission roles.
As part of our promise to deliver comprehensive coverage to our Defence Insight and Premium News subscribers, our curated defence news content provides the latest industry updates, contract awards and programme milestones.
More from Air Warfare
-
Singapore P-8A buy integral to future maritime domain awareness network
Singapore’s acquisition of the Boeing P-8A Poseidon will be part of a maritime domain awareness network that could include unmanned aerial systems.
-
Peru cleared for possible $3.42 billion F-16 Block 70 buy
The potential foreign military sale covers 12 F-16 aircraft as well as related training and equipment support, the DSCA notice said.
-
DSEI 2025: The fighter market shift to Manned-Unmanned Teaming (MUM-T)
Manned-Unmanned Teaming (MUM-T) capabilities is set to become a market differentiator for fighter aircraft, allowing 4.5-5th generation platforms to remain relevant to the battlefield.
-
Project Kuiper’s LEO network pioneers Space-as-a-Service
The Kuiper Network enables organizations to buy, rather than build, applications that serve mission needs at mission speed.