Posted on 06/03/2014 11:55:09 AM PDT by sukhoi-30mki
The AC-130 flying gunship fleet is one of the most fabled and feared assets in the entire USAF inventory. Known for its ability to unleash a broadside of cannon fire in the dead of night, the newest of the AC-130 lot is more about smart bombs than raining lead and howitzer shells down on the enemy.
Before the turn of the decade it became clear that the aging AC-130 fleet was in low supply and exceedingly high demand. As a result the Air Force Special Operations Command decided that it should augment the existing fleet on AC-130H and AC-130Us in the short term, as well as replace a portion of them in the long term.
The outcome of this decision was to outfit a portion of the MC-130W Dragon Speer special operations Hercules aircraft with a semi-modular kit called the Precision Strike Packages (PSP), similar to but more elaborate than the Marine's Harvest Hawk kit, which would give these Hercules the ability to perform Close Air Support (CAS), ISTAR (Information, Surveillance, Target Acquisition and Reconnaissance), armed over-watch and support Special Forces missions without having to buy an entirely new aircraft. In the longer term the AC-130J, based entirely on the newer and much improved Super Hercules platform, would replace older AC-130Hs that had reached the end of their service lives.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxtrotalpha.jalopnik.com ...
as military aircraft go, $19 million seems like a bargain
That’s not ouch, that’s just countermeasures.
Understood. My entire concept of warfare against Muslims is on a different level. Friendlies would be on the ground under completely different circumstances. In other words, only after all water, fuel, crops have been tainted or destroyed. The enemy would be carpet bombed by B-52's until Muslims are either dead or deaf. Friendlies are only needed when a dead Muslim isn't good enough and a live one is needed or when we are trying to hold ground. Holding ground includes identifying the enemy, e.g., check points. Enemy identified equals enemy dead. I like I said before, I don't care about collateral damage. The wars in Afghanistan and Iraq should have been concluded by 2002. With Iran surrounded, Iran should have been conquered in 2003.
I helped install the mounting brackets for the Gatling gun on one of the old C-47s (gooney birds) that was the first puffs. This was also at Eglin AFB in Florida.
The direction things are headed, I believe that. Whether I will be around when it happens is another question.
The direction things are headed, it would not surprise me.
Once in a while a subpeona to appear for court.
I wonder if a poor country could strap guns and rockets to a cheap civilian copter and get something usable against more than common thugs in technicals?
I read it and had a vision of my house being cut to splinters.
Back in the 60s the Air Force Special Forces were at Field 9 on Eglin. they changed it to Hurlburt Field still quite a while back. Now Hurlburt is a separate Air Force Base tho it is located on Eglin.
I had a distant relative who was a Green Beret, killed in Afghanistan. He was from DeFuniak and tho he was Army They flew his body to Hurlburt where they had a long line of Air Force special ops soldiers formed an honor guard. They flew his body to his home town by helicopter although it was only about 25 miles away.
There was a heavily up-gunned B-17, YB-40, with multiple powered turrets and no bomb load. The weight saved was devoted to carrying extra .50-cal ammo.
Unfortunately, the modifications changed the aircraft’s basic outline sufficiently for it to be easily identified by attacking German fighter aircraft. But, that wasn’t the worse problem.
After the bomb run was completed the aircraft couldn’t keep up with the rest of the formation, it was significantly heavier than the empty B-17s returning to England.
Active Duty ping.
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