AC-130J Ghostrider Gunship Launches Black Arrow Small Cruise Missile In New Video
The Leidos Small Cruise Missile could give AC-130s a new lease on life and enhance the combat reach and strike efficiency of other platforms.
Thomas Newdick
Published Apr 5, 2025 1:36 PM EDT
The Black Arrow, also known as the Small Cruise Missile, has completed a guided flight test, from an AC-130J Ghostrider gunships, the weapon’s manufacturer Leidos has confirmed. The Black Arrow — which is intended to carry a range of different payloads, and not just a kinetic warhead — arrives at a time when the Pentagon is looking at harnessing the potential of lower-cost weapons that can be readily produced at scale to meet the likely demands of future conflicts.
The Black Arrow, also known as the Small Cruise Missile, has completed a guided flight test from an AC-130J Ghostrider gunship, the weapon’s manufacturer, Leidos, has confirmed. The Black Arrow, which is intended to carry a range of different payloads, and not just a kinetic warhead, arrives at a time when the Pentagon is looking at harnessing the potential of lower-cost weapons that can be readily produced at scale to meet the likely demands of future conflicts.
Leidos only recently announced the flight test although it occurred last November. The company also published a video of the test, showing Black Arrow being launched from a pair of Ramp Launch Tubes (RLT) mounted on the rear ramp of the AC-130J. The Black Arrow is released tail-first from the RLT, after which its single-piece pop-out wing deploys. The motor can then be seen starting. The weapon’s subsequent impact into the ground is not shown in the video.
A pair of Ramp Launch Tubes (RLT) loaded with Black Arrow SCMs on the rear ramp of an AC-130J. Leidos screencap
Cruciform tailfins deploy as the Black Arrow SCM is ejected from the RLT. Leidos screencap
As well as using the RLT, Leidos says that Black Arrow can be launched from a palletized system or conventionally released from a stores pylon on a fixed-wing aircraft.
https://www.twz.com/air/ac-130j-ghostrider-gunship-launches-black-arrow-small-cruise-missile-in-new-video
