Does a slow, Vietnam-era gunship have a place on the modern battlefield? Can you upgrade the old warhorse into a 21st century charger?
The fixed-wing gunship idea goes back to barnstorming flyers who invented to the ‘pylon turn,’ pointing one wing at an object such as a pylon on the ground as they turned around it (…there is quite a story behind this one). By extension, if you have weapons firing out of one side of the plane they can maintain accurate fire on a fixed point even though the plane is moving at relatively high speed. The idea worked well in Vietnam, and now the latest version of the gunship is the AC-130U Spectre, packing a 105-mm howitzer, a 25mm 1,800-round-a-minute Gatling gun and a 40mm Bofors gun. It can provide impressively accurate fire support; this video from Iraq apparently shows one destroying moving vehices outside a mosque without hitting the building.
To F-22 Raptor enthusiasts who think air power should be supersonic and stealthy, the Spectre might look like a dinosaur. It’s slow and noisy and has to come in close to the target, making it vulnerable to portable SAMs. But the old-style Spectre could be the basis for an ultra-modern gunship, according to Bill Elliot of the Naval Surface Warfare Center. His Future AC-130 Gunship Integrated Weapons Systems Concept is the cutting edge of close air support.
The basic idea is to upgrade from dumb, short-range munitions to smart long-range ones. Out goes the 105-mm howitzer in favor of a 120mm smoothbore – you’d call it a mortar, except that a downward-firing mortar is weird. Add to it racks of smart Viper Strike glide bombs. And instead of relying on onboard sensors, the Spectre will be able to launch its own fleet of drones to locate and designate targets. This increases the range at which targets can be engaged from 3 miles to 15 miles or more, so opponents will no longer be able to hear the Spectre coming before it strikes.
Pallet-loaded Dominator UCAV/munitions might also be a useful addition to the mix; in fact, the Future Spectre could be a veritable Arsenal Aircraft carrying a range of weapons and drones depending on the mission.
Instead of short-range, high-volume firepower, it will be delivering long-range precision strikes. Both Viper Strike and the XM395 120mm smoothbore rounds can be laser guided, with designation can come from the aircraft itself, from accompanying drones or from ground troops. Targets under hard cover can be destroyed rather than just suppressed, with “top floor, third window from the left” precision.
There are plenty of other ammunition options for the 120mm smoothbore – it can fire a full range of mortar rounds. This includes developments like the M971 cargo round, which can saturate an area the size of a football pitch with bomblets, a gun-launched UAV, and even non-lethal rounds delivering CS gas and flash-bangs for crowd control. New monopack containers reduce the packaging weight by 60% and significantly increase the amount which can be carried. This should greatly increase the versatility of the Spectre. But it is the precision strike which will make the biggest difference, greatly increasing the chances of single-shot kills and so extending the number of targets that can be engaged.
Instead of orbiting around a fixed point and firing at a sngle target, the upgraded Spectre will be able to tackle multiple targets at dispersed locations simultaneously. And the accuracy of that fire will be enough to destroy targets under cover rather than suppressing them, as well as preventing ‘friendly fire’ accidents and collateral damage. In effect, Bill Eliot is bringing ’smart bombs’ to the gunship, which could increase its effectiveness as much as precision-guided bombs have for strike aircraft.
Eliot quotes a memo from the Secretary of Defense:
“We need more weapon systems like the AC-130, where the ordnance can be directed in a more precise way”
What better solution than an upgraded AC-130? The Future Spectre is still doing the same job as before, providing close air support to those who need it most, but doing it better. But it would be the heart of a network which includes drones, munitions and ground troops. It will continue to provide the persistence, firepower and high precision that has earned the Spectre its reputation. And it will be able to do it all from a range that greatly reduces risk to the aircraft.
It may not be the vision of those who want to conduct airstrikes from mach 1 and 50,000 feet, but when things get messy on the ground, then a gunship with smart weapons looks like a very good investment.
Great Idea but to add to it a bit…
1. Why stick with that legacy platform??? An AC-17 would potentially give greater endurance, improved response/transit time and allow for a much improved payload.
2. The choice of 120mm Mortar seems odd. A series of 30mm Type Gatling guns (with appropriate ammo) would seem to deliver the proper destructive capability without the inherent risk of unproven technology.
3. In keeping with the weapons theme, a low recoil, hyper velocity weapon in the range of a 90mm or even the (i believe) 76mm hyper velocity gun the Israeli’s were attempting to market, might be an even bigger boon against a wider array of targets.
Thanks, responses are appreciated…
Soloman,
The C-17s a great airframe, for transportation. The C-130 is the preferred platform because it can go low and make tight turns over the targeted areas. Jets can not, or will not (compare Marine CAS culture with the Airforce CAS culture) do that.
The AC-130 is an incredible platform for delivering effects. When the Jihadi masses, and is fixed, then noise doesn’t matter. The AC-130 terminates the engagement, always, in our favor. Those media servers downrange are stuffed with gunsight videos testifying to that fact.
Glad to see some thinking about recapitalizing the ships. Our Air Force brethren often seem overly attracted to bright, shiny, metallic objects.
For my money, more AC-130s, A-10s and even metalstorm equipped Blimps (a DT fav). I think our Air Marshals would benefit from watching the last fifteen mintues of “We Were Soldiers Once…”, the “Broken Arrow scene” in particular.
The LTs and SGTs fighting this war would appreciate it, if they did.
Just my REMF opinion.
The venerable AC-130U is THE weapons platform for places like Somalia, Iraq & AFGN. As the technology for more accurate and versatile weapons systems improves, the greater the ability of this old war horse to protect the grunts on the ground and impact the AO. Having seen the devastation wrought by the Spectres in Vietnam and Desert Storm, there is also the incalcuable fear factor
of an aircraft delivering that level of lethal ordinance from ever greater distances in the hostiles.
The Air Force likes to tout the BUF/B-52 as a dinosaur with a future. The A-10 and the AC-130 are the grunt’s best friends and
should continue to be so for the foreseeable future.
Good Afternoon David,
Good article, but you failed to understand the role of a gunship. It is hang around, especially after dark and be on call for the ground troops.
The targets a gunship usually engages can be only a few hundred meters from the 911 call. It is a very strong moral factor when the guys on the ground can see the source of fire and brimstone when the “Spookys” are laying a world of hurt on the unfriendlies.
The AC-130 like the gunships before it, the AC-47’s and AC-119’s, are the right weapon for the mission they are tasks to do. Longer range weapons and more stand off posture by the gunships would destroy a lot of it effect. “Some things, like Gunships, Pizza, Fish Tacos and a cold beer, “…just don’t need no improvin’”.
ALLONS,
Byron Skinner
The AC-130 is proof of a concept that some Air Force-types just don’t understand. Many of the R&D flyboys I interact with are given to whining about the age of their current fleet. They always talk about how the Air Force needs “planes of the future” or they will get left behind in a decade.
My retort is: Why do you need new weapons platforms when the weapons are getting smarter every day? Flight technology hasn’t changed nearly as much in the last 50 years as munitions technology has. It would make sense that a durable bird like the BUF can remain relevant on the battlefield because it can still deliver the most accurate munitions.
The AC-130 is in the a similar situation. The bird’s design is solid, but it could use some new weapons. 130 gunners are pretty good shots, but I bet they would appreciate something a little smarter that doesn’t heat up the gun cabin as much.
Going from dumb short range firepower to smart long range firepower is a mistake. It appears that someone is falling in love with a power point presentation.
There is a need and use for each. The AC-130 is near perfect. Not that it could use to some improvements. Personally, I would like it to have some SDB racks for hard target attacks.
Electronic-wise, having it able to link & share with UAV’s and ground troops would be a plus. Going to a jet version is waste. That said, going to a ducted fan configuration would have advantages in noise reduction and survivability.
Solomon,
The AC-130 is a proven platform for gunship operations and the airframes are already there. Turning a C-17 into a gunship (can it make low-speed pylon turns?) would be a totally different proposition.
30mm Gatling guns would give no improvement in range over the existing weapons and cannot fire smart ammunition. The 120mm has greater range and guided rounds.
Hypervelocity weapons again are not the answer when you want low recoil and guided rounds.
Bryan,
I think the persistence aspect is brought out, especially with the need for a deep magazine and the the ability to hang around and deal with multiple targets.
The upgraded version can retain the 25mm Gatling and Bofors, and can provide the morale effect of close-in firepower wehere needed. But it can also deliver long-range attacks when surprise and stand-off are important.
Good Morning Folks,
One aspect of the converted cargo carriers to gunships is what it’s like on the ground. As any Combat Infantry can atest to, their is no better feeling that a soldier can have then at 0100 when the bad guys are snipping and laying H&I fire on you all night to see those Xeons go on.
For a brief second after the place is light up and before “Puff” cast his breath there is hush then the enemy finds Christainlty and is introduced to what Revalations is all about. After the gunship(s) is/are done there is Peace in the Valley.
ALLONS,
Byron Skinner
One advantage of longer range smart weapons for a gunship is improved “stand off” capability.
Seems to me that a big, slow aircraft is a sitting duck for a shoulder fired SA missile…
But if you’re out of range of the SAM and one of our grunts has eyes on target… Sayonara, sucker!
Better munitions are only part of the solution, however. As James noted, ducted fans would provide better speed and noise reduction. This allows you to be out of sight of tango b*st*rds planting roadside IDEs.
Sniper detection systems http://www.defensereview.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=903
are another part.
Once those are implemented, the only thing left for the bad guys are car bombs and theater weapons (biologicals and nukes). For that, technology will help… But the only other thing I can think of at the moment to fill the gaps is intelligence.