Click to see full-size image. (L3Harris)
Israel is arming its air force with light attack aircraft that will allow it to defend its border from large infiltrations, as well as to conduct intense operations over neighboring countries with no real air defense capabilities.
On October 15, Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) and the American defense contractor L3Harris announced that they had signed a memorandum of understanding to jointly develop an Israeli configuration of L3Harris’s Sky Warden aircraft. Sky Warden was designed on the basis of the Air Tractor AT-802, which was originally developed for agriculture and firefighting.
L3Harris is already producing the Sky Warden under the name OA-1K Skyraider II for the United States Special Operations Command.
Powered by a 1,600 hp Pratt & Whitney PT6A-67F turboprop engine, the Skyraider II can stay in the air for up to nine hours with a service ceiling of 7,620 meters.
Armament includes up to 2,268 kg of munitions on nine hardpoints, such as precision-guided bombs, rockets, and missiles, plus provisions for advanced sensors like electro-optical/infrared cameras and synthetic aperture radar for austere environments.
The Israeli Air Force (IAF) configuration of the aircraft will be dubbed the Blue Sky Warden, the two companies said in a joint statement.
“The collaboration establishes an integrated team that will combine L3Harris’ low-cost, high-endurance Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) aircraft with IAI’s proven systems,” the statement read.
The Blue Sky Warden will be equipped with an IAI computer to “host Israeli-specific software and special capabilities,” the companies said, adding that IAI would also “supply and integrate its mission equipment and lead flight tests and airworthiness campaigns” with Israel’s Defense Ministry and the IAF.
The decision to establish the light aircraft squadrons came from the IAF’s probe into the Hamas-led October 7 attack of 2023. The probe found that fighter jets were ineffective at gathering intelligence on infiltrators in real time, and helicopters were exposed to air defense fire.
The new light attack aircraft will reportedly operate along borders with the Gaza Strip, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, and Egypt, under the regional divisions of the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF).
IAF officials said that these aircraft are meant to thwart large-scale infiltration attacks, as well as to conduct long-endurance surveillance missions.
While Israel claims that these aircraft will be only used to defend its border, they could be even more useful for intense operations over territories with no capable air defenses like Syria and Lebanon where they can be used in counter-insurgency roles or even to impose a no-drive zone. With such an aerial capability, the IDF will be able to occupy and secure large territories at a much lower coast.
Just last month, it was revealed that Israel is working to nearly double the size of its fleet of AH-64 Apache attack helicopters by purchasing an additional 30 ones from the U.S. for $3.8 billion. These helicopters would be also useful in such roles.
These recent deals highlight the shift in the challenges facing Israel. With the fall of the regime of former President Bashar al-Assad in Syria, the last heavily-armed enemy on the border of the country was defeated.
Now, the IDF is arming itself to fight lightly-armed forces that can move fast. With the war in the Gaza Strip nearing its end, it can be said that such an enemy exists only in Lebanon, where Hezbollah is still active, and Syria, with the new military is being built up on a highly decentralized structure. Israel is preparing for war with both countries, apparently.
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