Upgraded turboprop engines will propel the plane at one-third the cost per flying hour as the AC-130U planes. The plane also carries 105 mm M102 onboard howitzers. It's that precise," said former 1st Operations Wing commander Col. Its weapons include 30 mm Mk 44 Bushmaster II cannon which can act "almost like a sniper rifle. ![]() The gunship is equipped with a precision strike package, which includes a mission management console, a robust communications suite, two electro-optical/infrared sensors, advanced fire control equipment, a precision-guided munitions delivery capability. Brandon Hughes, AFSOC headquarters AC-130J requirements chief. "The Block 30 AC-130J is now our most lethal aircraft in AFSOC's inventory," said Maj. Additional upgraded planes are meant to retire the AC-130U planes the Air Force has used for over 20 years. The aircraft is the first to be delivered to the Air Force's 4th Special Operations Squadron, 1st Special Operations Wing. The plane is an upgrade of the Block 20 AC-130J, with Block 30 improved software and avionics. Air Force announced the delivery of its newest gunship on Wednesday as the AC-130J Ghostrider was unveiled at Hurlburt Field, Fla. The service recently retired the AC-130H and, as of last fiscal year, had a total of 31 AC-130s in the fleet, including three Ghostriders, 16 Spookys and 12 Stinger IIs, according to information compiled by the Air Force Association.The U.S. The Air Force currently has 10 of the Ghostriders and plans to buy a total of 37 from manufacturer Lockheed Martin Corp., the general said. The latter includes a mission management console, robust communications suite, two electro-optical/infrared sensors, advanced fire control equipment, precision guided munitions delivery capability as well as trainable 30mm and 105mm weapons, according to the Air Force. Webb continued, "So how do I navigate having some capability in the fight, transition those same guys in those same squadrons to a new weapon system, and then build them up at the same time? So that draws out the timeline from IOC of airframes to train the guys who come back from combat into a new weapon system, have them have a deployed-dwell time to make sure that they're going to have families at the end of their 20-year career, then bring them back on the battlefield in the Js." "We're not going to have the luxury of doing what most normal units do," he added, referring to the typical transition period for returning troops." The challenge that we have, it's my problem, is how do we fight the current fight - we have gunships deployed to Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria - and use those same people to convert into a new weapon system?
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