Local Co. Builds Combat Crop Dusters

A small west Texas company has gained world-wide attention for building crop dusters that double as combat planes.

Air Tractor in Olney, Texas began building the 1600-horsepower single engine planes for the state department so that drug-busting pilots could fly them over narcotics fields in Columbia.

"These drug eradication airplanes were being fired upon by people that were in the business of harvesting narcotic crops," said inventor Leland Snow.

But now even the Air Force is interested.

The combat crop dusters can fight back with three-barrel gatling guns and rocket pods on each wing. They can also carry 500 pound bombs or even be used to fight wildfires.