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Special Operations

Armed Overwatch Program Gets Rebuttal from U.S. Air Force Official

Frank Wolfe

Wednesday, August 11th, 2021

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Armed Overwatch Program Gets Rebuttal from U.S. Air Force Official

MAG Aerospace is proposing its MC-208 Guardian for the U.S. Special Operations Command's Armed Overwatch program (MAG Aerospace Photo)

While U.S. Special Operations Command (SOCOM) desires 75 Armed Overwatch aircraft--four squadrons, plus 15 training planes, a top U.S. Air Force official on Aug. 11 countered that such aircraft will not be of much use in conflicts with China or Russia. "The [2018] National Defense Strategy is pretty clear. We need to focus on a peer threat," Air Force Lt. Gen. Joseph Guastella, the service's deputy chief of staff for operations, told an Air Force Association Warfighters in Action forum.…

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