Close Air Support Debate: We Go Inside an AC-130 to See if the Gunship is Still Relevant
Dec 13 2017 - 10 Comments
By Tom Demerly
The AC-130 Spectre Gunship Still Plays a Critical Role in America’s Close Air Support Capability.
It is large, slow and vulnerable to air defense systems including increasingly effective man-portable SAMs. It can also deliver withering fire support with an impressive degree of accuracy and an ever-expanding variety of munitions if the battlespace is permissive enough. It’s the AC-130 Spectre gunship.
But is the large, slow gunship still relevant?
With the role of the A-10 in question, the emergence of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, the recent Light Attack Experiment and even armed, remotely piloted aircraft (RPAs) the question becomes: where does the AC-130 Spectre gunship fit into the mix of assets in the Air Force order of battle?
https://theaviationist.com/2017/12/13/close-air-support-debate-we-go-inside-an-ac-130-to-see-if-the-gunship-is-still-relevant/
