A popular static aircraft display at the 2018 Farnborough International Airshow was the AT-802L Longswordâ„¢ exhibited by L3 Technologies and Air Tractor. In this video, L3 Senior Program Manager David Delzell gives a planeside interview about this versatile ISR and light attack platform. The AT-802L Longsword is an intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) and light strike aircraft developed by L3 Technologies in co-operation with Air Tractor. It is a special mission variant of the Air Tractor 802 series of agricultural aircraft. L3 rebranded it as OA-8 Longsword for Asia-Pacific region.
The AT-802 is a crop duster made by Air Tractor, which in its “Longsword” configuration is modified by L3 to carry weapons and an electro-optical infrared (EO/IR) sensor, turning it into a light attack aircraft. The AT-802L is equipped with L3’s Wescam MX-15 EO/IR sensor and ForceX mission management system, and the company also installs a glass cockpit as part of the modification process. In terms of weapons-carrying capability, the Longsword has 11 hard points and can carry 6,200 pounds of fuel or munitions, including precision-guided weapons with the addition of a laser designator. The aircraft offers more than 10 hours of endurance without needing to be refueled, and can traverse 400-mile ranges while still staying on station for about six hours. It can also take off from unimproved fields, eliminating the need for a paved runway.
