Here comes another airplane review, one that is much different than the rest. I had never heard of this airplane before; in fact, the first time I saw it was yesterday. Yesterday I learned that the United States military- the owner of the most airplanes in the world- has chosen a new aircraft to serve. This airplane is designated the AT-802U sky warden.
As soon as I saw this plane, I laughed at its bulbous cockpit, turboprop engine, and tricycle landing gear. I am sure many of you know what plane this contraption resembles. That’s right; this airplane is a crop duster. America is known for striving for perfection and innovation. The United States military is no exception to that rule, especially with its $770 billion budget. At first, it came as a surprise to me that the Air Force would field an airplane that was first built in 1990 for the agricultural marketplace., but one thing I’ve learned in aviation is to expect the unexpected. After reading several articles and watching a few YouTube videos, I understand the reasoning behind choosing this strange airplane as the military’s next project. It is all about money.
Yes, the military budget is $770 billion dollars, but why? We are a country in debt; a shit ton of debt. We are also not involved in any significant conflict right now. Yet we just dumped 2 billion dollars into buying a fleet of 75 crop dusters. After a bit of research, it all clicked for me. These airplanes are incredibly cheap to operate. On top of that, this airplane will serve as sort of a jack of all trades.
The A-10 Warthog (which I may do a future episode on) is the closest thing I can compare the Sky Warden to right now with the information I have. The Warthog is a close-air support airplane and is considered to be an incredibly cheap machine to fly. For every hour of flight time, the Warthog costs about $18,000 worth of maintenance. However, the Sky Warden, which I still can’t believe is actually happening, will cost less than $1,000 per hour. I mean, yeah, that’s still a lot of money, but in aviation terms, that is almost nothing.
We don’t need the most advanced technology for the enemies we fight now. We aren’t fighting large-scale wars against opponents like Germany or Russia (I hope not, at least) anymore. The majority of our attention goes to smugglers with makeshift equipment, such as the half-submarine half/boat pictured below.
The Sky Warden, though uncanny, is equipped with cameras, sensors, lasers, and all kinds of reconnaissance equipment. With a 10-hour loiter time, it will be perfect for what I will assume to be its intended purpose. It will be able to reliably spot incoming smugglers and relay the exact location to ground forces, which can then (hopefully peacefully and without struggle) capture the contraband. So yeah, I’m all for having a new plane that will help us out and keep cash in our pockets.