Going forward the annual SOF Week special operations conference will feature a dedicated space for the aerial demonstration of new technologies.
The organisers of SOF Week revealed the new addition on 22 January, noting the new Special Air Warfare Zone will be located at Peter O Knight general aviation airport in the centre of Tampa, Florida – where SOF Week is held every year.
“This dedicated zone was developed to meet growing demand across the [special operations forces] community for live, large-scale air and aviation demonstrations,” the organisers of SOF Week say.
The demonstration space at Peter O Knight will offer 1h blocks throughout the 19-21 conference allowing exhibitors to showcase new aerial warfare offerings, including small uncrewed aerial systems, airborne electronic warfare, aerial reconnaissance and intelligence collection, and counter UAS systems.
During the 2025 running of SOF Week, US defence contractor L3Harris displayed the company’s new OA-1K SkyRaider II light attack aircraft at Peter O Knight.
L3Harris is under contract by US Special Operations Command to deliver up to 75 examples of the OA-1Ks, which is derived from the Air Tractor AT-802 crop duster.
