Post by oldhippy on May 19, 2020 21:44:00 GMT
How Could the AC-130 Gunship Get Any Better? (The Answer Is Lasers.)
While a bit behind schedule, the Air Force's gunship is finally getting outfitted with lasers.
BY KYLE MIZOKAMI
The Air Force will test a 60 kilowatt laser on an AC-130 gunship in 2022.
The weapon won’t be powerful enough to kill, but it will give the gunship less than lethal options for dealing with enemies on the ground.
The AC-130 still has plenty of offensive firepower, including 30-millimeter guns and an onboard howitzer.
One of the most fearsome planes in the U.S. Air Force arsenal is about to get a high tech upgrade. The service plans to test a laser weapon system aboard the AC-130J Ghostrider gunship in 2022, making it the first offensive laser weapon tested aboard an Air Force aircraft. The laser will give the gunship the ability to damage equipment and injure but not kill enemy combatants, a “less than lethal” capability the heavily armed airplane has lacked until now.
CERTIFIED BADASS
Why the C-130 Is Such a Badass Plane
The service announced the plans at the Virtual Special Operations Forces Industry Conference, a conference typically held in Tampa, Florida every year but held online during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Laser weapons produce unique effects not possible with kinetic energy and chemical energy weapons. Laser weapons use concentrated pulses of light to transfer energy to the target, quickly heating it. A laser could theoretically kill someone, burning smoking holes in people and severing limbs like lasers do in movies, but it needs enough power (rated in kilowatts) to do so.
The Air Force is installing a laser on the AC-130J in the 60-kilowatt range. That’s not enough to burn a hole in someone or punch through the steel armor of armored vehicles. But sixty kilowatts can melt a satellite antenna dish, burn a hole in the hull of a small boat, torch the arms off a quadcopter, or even ignite a rubber bladder full of fuel. It could also burn through the hood of a moving car or truck, disabling the engine and bringing it to a stop.
The Air Force’s long line of gunships has traditionally emphasized firepower over all else. The Air Force is starting to diversify the modern gunship’s capabilities, and the recent incorporation of SDB glide bombs and Griffin missiles gives the gunship a standoff attack capability it previously lacked. The AC-130J’s laser will be the first weapon with a “scalable” nonlethal capability: that is, the weapon’s power can be adjusted to produce a range of less than lethal effects. In the future, more powerful lasers will be capable of both lethal and nonlethal fires.
An armed speedboat of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, 2010.
The 60-kilowatt laser gives U.S. commanders options for crippling an adversary without immediately using lethal weapons. The crew of a small armed speedboat might break off an attack when they notice the paint on their outboard engine bubbling. If that fails to dissuade them, the AC-130J could crank up the power and burn the engine out completely. If the target continues to be a threat to U.S. forces, well, there’s always the 105-millimeter howitzer:
This content is imported from YouTube. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.
The AC-130’s laser feels like the future, but in fact it’s actually a few years late. In 2015, the Air Force challenged industry to put a 120-kilowatt laser on a gunship by 2020. The reality is the laser will enter testing two years late and with only half the output.
While a bit behind schedule, the Air Force's gunship is finally getting outfitted with lasers.
BY KYLE MIZOKAMI
an ac 130j ghostrider, assigned to the 73rd special operations squadron, performs a flyover during the master sgt john chapman medal of honor celebration aerial demonstration at hurlburt field, florida, oct 26, 2018 hurlburt field hosted a three day celebration to commemorate the legacy of chapman, a combat controller who was posthumously awarded the medal of honor and promoted to master sergeant for his actions during the battle of takur ghar, also known as roberts ridge, in march 2002 us air force photo by airman 1st class joel millerU.S. AIR FORCE PHOTO BY AIRMAN 1ST CLASS JOEL MILLER/DVIDS
The weapon won’t be powerful enough to kill, but it will give the gunship less than lethal options for dealing with enemies on the ground.
The AC-130 still has plenty of offensive firepower, including 30-millimeter guns and an onboard howitzer.
One of the most fearsome planes in the U.S. Air Force arsenal is about to get a high tech upgrade. The service plans to test a laser weapon system aboard the AC-130J Ghostrider gunship in 2022, making it the first offensive laser weapon tested aboard an Air Force aircraft. The laser will give the gunship the ability to damage equipment and injure but not kill enemy combatants, a “less than lethal” capability the heavily armed airplane has lacked until now.
CERTIFIED BADASS
Why the C-130 Is Such a Badass Plane
The service announced the plans at the Virtual Special Operations Forces Industry Conference, a conference typically held in Tampa, Florida every year but held online during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Laser weapons produce unique effects not possible with kinetic energy and chemical energy weapons. Laser weapons use concentrated pulses of light to transfer energy to the target, quickly heating it. A laser could theoretically kill someone, burning smoking holes in people and severing limbs like lasers do in movies, but it needs enough power (rated in kilowatts) to do so.
The Air Force is installing a laser on the AC-130J in the 60-kilowatt range. That’s not enough to burn a hole in someone or punch through the steel armor of armored vehicles. But sixty kilowatts can melt a satellite antenna dish, burn a hole in the hull of a small boat, torch the arms off a quadcopter, or even ignite a rubber bladder full of fuel. It could also burn through the hood of a moving car or truck, disabling the engine and bringing it to a stop.
senior leaders from the 1st special operations wing tour a lockheed martin factory in crestview, fla, oct 24, 2016 the manufacturers are modifying four mc 130j commando ii aircraft to become ac 130j ghostrider gunships the ac 130j was developed to provide ground forces an expeditionary, direct fire platform that is persistent, ideally suited for urban operations and delivers precision, low yield munitions against ground targets us air force photo by airman 1st class joseph pick
The AC-130J’s 30-millimeter autocannon.
U.S. AIR FORCE PHOTO BY AIRMAN 1ST CLASS JOSEPH PICK/DVIDS
The AC-130J Ghostrider is the latest in a long line of fixed-wing gunships dating back to the Vietnam War. The AC-130J is a C-130J Super Hercules transport fitted with one GAU-23/A 30-millimeter cannon and a 105-millimeter howitzer. The AC-130J can also equip 250-pound GBU-39B Small Diameter Bombs for longer range precision strike capability, as well as the AGM-114 Hellfire and AGM-176 Griffin missile. The AC-130J is designed to loiter high above enemy targets, bombarding enemy forces below.
The Air Force’s long line of gunships has traditionally emphasized firepower over all else. The Air Force is starting to diversify the modern gunship’s capabilities, and the recent incorporation of SDB glide bombs and Griffin missiles gives the gunship a standoff attack capability it previously lacked. The AC-130J’s laser will be the first weapon with a “scalable” nonlethal capability: that is, the weapon’s power can be adjusted to produce a range of less than lethal effects. In the future, more powerful lasers will be capable of both lethal and nonlethal fires.
An armed speedboat of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, 2010.
AFPGETTY IMAGES
This content is imported from YouTube. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.
The AC-130’s laser feels like the future, but in fact it’s actually a few years late. In 2015, the Air Force challenged industry to put a 120-kilowatt laser on a gunship by 2020. The reality is the laser will enter testing two years late and with only half the output.
Gunships may add laser weapons to the menu, but probably won’t replace chemical energy guns entirely: lasers are arguably less effective than cannon shells. Still, they offer a unique nonlethal capability other weapons can’t offer, including defusing a dangerous situation by immobilizing enemy forces.