U.S. Air Force Special Operations Focus Shifts In Modernization Plans

The Pentagon’s move toward operating in high-threat areas across vast distances in the Pacific does not mean U.S. special operations forces are no longer doing counterterrorism work.

They will end up having to do more, and leaders argue that that should not come with less resources.

• OA-1K fielding continues amid uncertainty

• MC-130J and MQ-9 plans take shape

“The world’s changed a little bit,” U.S. Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC) boss Lt. Gen. Michael Conley said Feb. 11 at the Special Air Warfare Symposium in Fort Walton Beach, Florida. “We have to think a little bit more than just counterterrorist operations from a [special operations forces (SOF)] operational perspective.

“But we don’t have the luxury to do one or the other,” he noted. “We have to be able to do this and that. . . . The nation needs us out doing things SOF can do. We have to not only balance the counterterrorism fight . . . we also have to do things to prep us for the next fight.”

Preparing for that fight is pitting AFSOC priorities and competition for resources against others in the Pentagon. The Defense Department has focused largely on high-end, exquisite capabilities and has shifted some roles, such as intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR), away from aircraft and into space. However, the capabilities of SOF aircraft will always be required, argued U.S. Air Force Brig. Gen. Craig Prather, director of strategic plans, programs and requirements.

“A physical world continues to demonstrate the need for the full spectrum of airborne ISR capabilities, particularly when necessary to inform, then enable, actions on the objectives,” Prather said. “Whether manned or remotely piloted, [beyond line of sight] or directly overhead objectives, the joint force relies on what is difficult to replace: real-time, full-motion video electro-optical feeds paired with other various intelligence capabilities to ensure awareness [and] certainty and enable action.”

AFSOC and U.S. Special Operations Command (SOCOM) are undertaking fleet updates, including outfitting new capabilities on Lockheed MC-130Js, new roles for General Atomics MQ-9 Reapers, adding long-endurance drones, improving Bell Boeing CV-22 tiltrotors, fielding new long-range munitions and looking long-term at fielding new vertical-takeoff-and-landing aircraft through a collaboration with DARPA. Additionally, AFSOC is fielding its first new aircraft fleet in decades—the L3Harris OA-1K Skyraider II.

“To infill a force or execute a strike, SOF airborne ISR—the mix of remotely piloted and manned assets—will continue to play a pivotal role in supporting our nation’s priority theaters, providing awareness and enabling action,” Prather said.

The state of these efforts was highlighted at the Special Air Warfare Symposium ahead of an upcoming fiscal 2027 budget rollout that is expected to overhaul much of the broader military’s priorities.

A key modernization for the command’s workhorse MC-130J fleet is well underway—and long overdue, said Col. Justin Bronder, program executive officer for fixed wing at SOCOM. AFSOC and SOCOM are upgrading the fleet to the MC-130J Combat Talon III. The upgrade package is undergoing tests in which SOCOM teams work to triage fixes quickly to avoid slowing down the program.

The next upgrade phase will have a minimum viable product of a new auxiliary flight deck station, airborne mission networking systems and the APQ-187 Silent Knight terrain following/terrain avoidance radar. Full capability includes new radio-frequency countermeasures and updates to the airborne mission networking system and radar.

For strike aircraft, AFSOC is looking to broaden the use of its fleet in small ways, as opposed to a large acquisition effort. This includes changing the tactics of its Lockheed AC-130J Ghostrider II gunship from fixating on a single target, usually through its guns, to multiple targets through different weapons including low-cost cruise missiles. With the Adaptive Airborne Enterprise system, AFSOC is bringing on launched effects, although their use is not limited to MQ-9s and can apply to other existing aircraft. These air-launched uncrewed systems will increase the survivability of carrier aircraft and provide more situational awareness for strikes, Prather said.

The OA-1K, a heavily modified Air Tractor crop duster for light attack and surveillance, is AFSOC’s most notable acquisition program. Sixteen aircraft had been fielded as of early February at Will Rogers ANGB in Oklahoma. But the program has experienced some erosion. The fleet objective dropped to 62 from the planned 75, and the service in fiscal 2026 halved its planned procurement for the year.

AFSOC has pressed for the use of the OA-1K for missions outside of its original focus on strikes in permissive environments, stating that the aircraft can serve multiple roles in surveillance and targeting. Also in February, L3Harris showcased the OA-1K’s potential to field its low-cost, long-range Red Wolf cruise missile.

The OA-1K units are undergoing training in Oklahoma. Bronder said there is a working connection between operators and acquisition leaders to find fixes at the point of need to be addressed quickly.

“We’ re staying attuned in real time to what they see with this aircraft, and obviously, we can take that feedback back,” he said. “It helps us close that loop more quickly by being out there and being attuned to, ‘Hey, what do you see with this new aircraft that we need to fix?’”