The crew of the Ghostrider trained its newly added 105mm cannon – basically a Howitzer mounted in the plane's belly – on the tank and opened fire, striking the tank several times. Sitting on the range was an old, lone tank used for target practice. 6, an AC-130J Ghostrider lifted off from a runway at Hurlburt Field, Florida, and flew northeast to the range at nearby Eglin Air Force Base. And the now-retired AC-130H Spectre had 20mm, 40mm and 105mm cannons. But until now, no gunship has had this combination of multiple high-powered cannons and precision-guided munitions. The AC-130U Spooky has 25mm, 40mm and 105mm guns. The AC-130W Stinger II has a 30mm cannon, precision-guided munitions, and the GBU-39 Small Diameter Bomb. The AC-130J is the fourth generation of this model, and will eventually replace the aging U and W variants – and it's a virtual certainty that it will be loitering above the battlefield, wherever Americans are fighting, for decades to come. Since it first flew to war during Vietnam, the AC-130 has destroyed more than 10,000 trucks, the Air Force says. And as the military's focus gradually turned to the Islamic State militant group, the AC-130's guns were trained on ISIS fighters, vehicles and oil trucks in places such as Raqqa, Syria. They conducted raids on Libyan dictator Moammar Qaddafi's forces during the civil war there in 2011. They supported ground troops during the invasion of Iraq in 2003, as well as in subsequent clashes, such as the battles of Fallujah. They rained down fire on the Taliban and al-Qaida during the early days of the Afghanistan war, and fought in many more battles there over the years. But despite drawing a fraction of the attention, the AC-130 and all its variants have been workhorses of the past 15 years of war. troops on the ground and delivering withering firepower that will send enemies running for the hills.Īircraft such as the F-35 and A-10 may be the focus of headlines, arguments on Capitol Hill between brass and lawmakers, and viral videos pulsing with hard rock. When it hits the battlefield in a few short years, the Ghostrider will be the most heavily armed gunship in history – a badass plane providing close-air support to U.S. Some day in the future, the Ghostrider could even be equipped with a high-energy laser. The AC-130J Ghostrider is set to be the most heavily-armed gunship in history, bristling with 30mm and 105mm cannons, AGM-176A Griffin missiles, and the ability to carry Hellfire missiles and GBU-39 Small Diameter Bombs. HURLBURT FIELD, FLORIDA – In the not-too-distant future, when ground troops call for close-air support, the ‘Ghostrider’ and its deadly arsenal could come to their rescue.

Spectre gunship