Problemi....
The Air Force’s New Gunships Shake, Rattle and Roll
Citat:The U.S. Air Force’s newest AC-130J Ghostrider gunships will enter service later than expected because of plans to load extra weapons on the four-engine planes. But the Pentagon’s top weapons tester is even more worried that other nagging problems could hold up the aircraft.
In 2014, crews had trouble picking out targets because the two prototypes were shaking so much in the air, according to the latest annual report from the Director of Operational Test and Evaluation.
On top of that, one of the aircraft had a mid-air accident that completely shut down test flights. “Several problems require resolution and will affect the subsequent development test schedule,” the report explains.
Citat:U.S. Air Force Senior Airman Kyle Gaffey, 73rd Special Operations Squadron special missions aviator, stands in front of an AC-130W Stinger II April 10, 2015, at Cannon Air Force Base, N.M. Gaffey helps operate and maintain weapons systems on the AC-130Ws, and acts as a loadmaster for cargo and passengers. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Alex Mercer)
O ugradnji nisanske kacige JHMCS II na AC-130 Stinger II i generalno o njemu...
Citat:In May 2012 the MC-130 Dragon Spear II was renamed AC-130W Stinger II, representing a new effort to increase the gunship’s precision fire capability. Field-proven weapons such as the AGM-176 Griffin and the GBU-39 small diameter bomb (SDB) were added to the aircraft through an accelerated acquisition and integration process that took only 18 months. Currently there are 12 AC-130W aircraft in active service, supporting SOCOM operations worldwide.
Citat:The AC-130W Stinger II is the latest, most advanced version of the AC-130 gunship operated by the U.S. Air Force under the Special Operations Command. Its primary missions are close air support and air interdiction. The aircraft is a highly-modified C-130H, featuring improved navigation, threat detection, countermeasures, and communications suites. All 12 AC-130W aircraft are modified with a precision strike package (PSP) to perform their gunship missions. Furthermore, 37 MC-130Js will be modified with the same package, enabling the unarmed Super-Hercules to convert into AC-130J gunships.
Modifications to the AC-130W include a mission-management console, a communications suite, two electro-optical/infrared sensors, fire control equipment, precision guided munitions delivery capability, and one side-firing, trainable, 30mm gun with tracer-less ammunition and an associated munitions storage system. These aircraft will also equip with the 105mm gun removed from the recent models; it will also be fitted to carry Hellfire missiles, in a similar way the US Marine Corps’ Harvest Hawk does.
The mission management system will fuse sensor, communications, environment, order of battle and threat information into a common operating picture
