In October 2019, the University of Wyoming was awarded a grant from NSF through the Mid-Scale Research Infrastructure Program to develop the next-generation King Air to replace the current UWKA and serve the NSF Lower Atmospheric Observing Facilities (LAOF) program and NSF-funded investigators for the next several decades. The 5-year effort will result in a more capable airborne laboratory while occupying the same niche in the NSF LAOF pool as the current aircraft. The next-generation King Air (referred to here as UWKA-2) will include additional ports with a larger payload, greater power capacity, longer endurance, improved investigator access and unprecedented suite of current and new instruments. It will be the platform of choice for a broad range of investigations, both small and large campaigns, for education-focused and research-focused campaigns, serving new and seasoned PIs, covering the spectrum of atmospheric and related sciences.