Aircraft Competing to Be the New SpecOps ‘Armed Overwatch’ Plane Now Face a Tough Series of Tests
U.S. Special Operations Command is kicking off a high-stakes fly-off to find its next Armed Overwatch aircraft—an agile, affordable platform designed to surveil extremists and support missions in some of the world’s toughest environments. Beginning June 14, 2021, at Eglin Air Force Base, five prototype aircraft will undergo a rigorous six-week testing campaign to prove they can deliver ISR, precision strike, and austere field performance with minimal logistical support.
SOCOM awarded $19.2 million in contracts to five vendors: the Bronco II (Leidos), MC-208 Guardian (MAG Aerospace), AT-6E Wolverine (Textron), MC-145B Wily Coyote (Sierra Nevada Corp.), and AT-802U Sky Warden (L3 Harris/Air Tractor). Over five test flights each, evaluators will examine key capabilities including short takeoff and landing on rough strips, endurance and range, weapons accuracy, comms performance (LOS and BLOS), cockpit and sensor configurations, and overall handling. AFSOC personnel will also ride along to assess maneuverability from the operator’s perspective.
“The key questions are simple: can it shoot, move, and communicate?” said SOCOM acquisition chief James Smith. The goal is to field about 75 fixed-wing aircraft that can deploy to austere regions, sustain themselves with a light footprint, and keep pressure on violent extremist groups in permissive airspace—particularly in parts of Africa where ISR and strike coverage has often lagged.
SOCOM’s approach is deliberately agile, keeping requirements stable while leaving room for future tech integrations like drone teaming and collaborative sensing. Whichever aircraft wins, it will give special operations forces a cost-effective, rapidly deployable tool for counterterrorism and irregular warfare—bridging the gap between drones and fast jets in missions where persistence and practicality matter most.