The U.S. Air Force has installed 32 AC-130H Ghost, AC-130J Ghost Rider, AC-130U Ghost, and AC-130W Stinger II special operations aircraft; 50 CV-22B Osprey tilting rotorcraft; 53 MC-130H Warhawk II, MC-130J Commando II, and MC-130P Battle Shadow. The Osprey is familiar to us, so what exactly is the AC-130 special operations aircraft used for?
The AC-130 is a special operations aircraft developed by Lockheed Martin and based on the C-130 transport aircraft, also known as the Air Gunboat, with a length of 29.8 meters, a wingspan of 40.4 meters, a height of 11.7 meters, and a maximum takeoff weight of 69,750 kg.
The power unit is four Alixun T56-A-15 turboprop engines, with a power of 4×3700 kilowatts, a maximum flight speed of 480 km / h, a practical ceiling of 7576 meters, a maximum range of 2340 km, up to 4070 km after aerial refueling, and a combat radius of 900 km.
The weapon system of the AC-130 includes a 7.62 mm machine gun, a 25 mm GAU-12/U cannon, a 105 mm howitzer, two M61 Vulcan 6-barrel 20 mm cannons, a Bofors 40 mm automatic gun, a side-fired weapon system with a high degree of integration with precision sensing systems, navigation and fire control systems, long-range flight capabilities, strong artillery fire, and strong attack characteristics, making it an attack platform for the U.S. Air Force Special Forces. It can be used for missions such as close air support and armed reconnaissance, as well as special operations missions.
The AC-130H was an improved version developed in 1973 with a more powerful T56-A-15 engine, a 105 mm howitzer and laser target indicator installed under the Paving Cover program, and entered service in 1990.
The AC-130U is an improved version of the C-130H developed in the mid-1980s, equipped with a more advanced sensing system, a new fire control radar system and a global positioning system, it also has a super anti-electronic interference capability and infrared early warning receiver, and can fly at night and in harsh natural environments, and can directly attack from a distance of 1200 meters from the target.
The AC-130U enhances electronic warfare capabilities and is fitted with an AN/APQ-180 fire control radar, AAQ-117 Forward-Looking Infrared (FLIR), fully active low-light night vision camera, ALQ-172 electronic jammer and anti-jamming thermal bomb launcher. Equipped with four IBM IP-102 mission computers with the ability to attack 2 targets at the same time. It integrates inertial navigation systems and global positioning systems for all-weather mission flight capabilities.
The AC-130J is the latest modification of the AC-130 series, modified from the MC-130J to replace the AC-130U. The Rolls-Royce AE 2100D3 turboprop engine was replaced with a maximum take-off weight increased to 74,000 kg, a practical ceiling of 8,500 m, a range of 4,800 km, and two pilots, two combat system commanders and three gunners.
The AC-130J was fitted with a Modular Precision Strike Kit (PSP), consisting of a 30 mm ATK GAU-23/A automatic lateral firing cannon and a 105 mm M102 howitzer. The wings are equipped with Precision Guided Munitions (SOPGM), including GBU-39 Laser Guided Small Diameter Bomb and AGM-176 Griffin Laser Guided Missile, as well as AGM-114 Hellfire missiles, GBU-44/B guided bombs and GBU-53/B small diameter bombs, etc. The missiles installed inside can be launched through the rear cargo hatch, improving firepower intensity and precision strike capability.
The AC-130J has upgraded its avionics system, installed an AN/ALR-56M radar early warning receiver, an/AAR-47(V)2 missile early warning system, and an AN/ALE-47 countermeasure projection system, and a modular precision strike kit equipped with photoelectric sensors/infrared sensors, all-weather synthetic aperture radar, pilot helmet display system, and TELEVISION cameras, which can perform more accurate targeted clearance of enemy targets and limit the destructive power of weapons to a certain range. This ensures that it does not reach its own ground forces.
The AC-130J plans to install laser weapons on the side of the fuselage, weighing about 2268 kg, capable of producing a beam of 120 kW (up to 180 to 200 kW after upgrading), destroying anti-aircraft missiles, and having a comprehensive strike capability to attack aircraft, ships, ground vehicles and communications facilities, as an alternative to 30 mm cannons. Potential upgrades to the AC-130J also include the addition of a tactical non-airborne sensor (TOBS) unmanned aerial system that can launch drones through ordinary launch tubes and fly along preset orbits, providing information such as long-range video signals and coordinates to improve the aircraft's ground and air situational awareness. The performance is so powerful, it seems that the US military is really useful to equip this kind of air gunboat.