Leidos-Led Team Among Final Contenders in USSOCOM’s Armed Overwatch Competition

A team led by Leidos has advanced to the final stage of the U.S. Special Operations Command’s Armed Overwatch aircraft prototype program.

The program aims to develop a new capability for close air support, precision strike and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions. The combatant command plans to buy approximately 75 Armed Overwatch planes in the coming years.

Leidos said it is working with Paramount USA and Vertex Aerospace to prepare its Bronco II aircraft for an operational prototype demonstration within June.

Bronco II features an internal Interchangeable Multi-Mission System Bay that allows a single airframe to be re-configured to carry out ISR, strike coordination and reconnaissance, forward air control or close air support operations.

The aircraft comes equipped with high-performance sensors, network communication systems, precision weapons, an electronic self-protection suite and mission planning systems.

Leidos Defense Group President Gerry Fasano, a Potomac Officers Club member and 2021 Wash100 winner, welcomed the company’s selection as a final contender in the competition.

“Our team combines decades of experience both integrating and manufacturing cutting-edge airborne solutions for the warfighter,” Fasano said.

The Leidos-led team is one of five sharing the $19.3 million pot for Phase III prototype demonstrations.

The other contenders and their proposed aircraft are MAG Aerospace and the MC-208 Guardian, Textron Aviation Defense and the AT-6E Wolverine, L3Harris Technologies and the AT-802U Sky Warden, and Sierra Nevada Corporation and the MC-145B Wily Coyote.