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Zitat:AFSOC Expects C-130 Laser Tests Within Year

ORLANDO: More than a year since news broke that Air Force Special Operations Command planned to install and test lasers on its fabulously lethal AC-130 gunships, the plan now is to get its top unfunded requirement tested within a year. [...] Lt. Gen. Brad Webb, head of AFSOC, told me that was now the plan. [...]

Webb said AFSOC hasn’t “decided where the laser would go.” The tests will help determine that, as well as which mix of weapons is most effective. His predecessor, Lt. Gen. Bradley Heithold, said the laser would probably go on the left side of the plane.

Why does AFSOC want a laser on the gunship? Heithold put it clearly: “The reason that I want it on an AC-130 is, right now, when an AC-130 starts firing kinetic weaponry, everybody knows you’re there. What I want on the airplane is to be able to silently disable something.”

Zitat:ie gemeinsame Fliegerstaffel soll ab 2021 in Évreux westlich von Paris mit sechs deutschen und bis zu sechs französischen Fliegern einsatzbereit sein. Dadurch sollen Training und Betrieb billiger werden. Der Bundestag soll über den Kauf der Flugzeuge 2019 entscheiden.

Zitat:Fliegendes Kanonenboot für Spezialeinsätze

USAF erhält AC-130J Block 30 Ghostrider

Die 4th Special Operations Squadron hat als erste Einheit der US Air Force die neueste Ausführung der Lockheed Martin AC-130J in Empfang genommen. [...] Äußerlich zwar ähnlich den Block 20 AC-130Js, die von der 73th Special Operations Squadron geflogen werden, stellt das Block 30 Upgrade eine wesentliche Verbesserung der Software- und Avioniktechnologie dar. „Die Block 30 AC-130J ist heute unser bestes Flugzeug im Bestand der AFSOC“, sagte Maj. Brandon Hughes vom Hauptquartier des Air Force Special Operations Command.

Die neue Variante der AC-130J ist mit dem Precision Strike Package ausgestattet. Dieses beinhaltet eine Missionsmanagementkonsole, eine umfangreiche Kommunikationssuite, zwei elektrooptische Infrarot-Sensoren, ein fortschrittliches Feuerleitsysteme für die seitlich schwenkbaren 30 mm und 105 mm Waffen sowie die Fähigkeit für den Einsatz von Präzisionsbomben. [...] Da die Block 30 AC-130J noch etwa ein Jahr lang im Teststatus bleibt werden die AC-130U vorerst weiter betrieben, bis sie Ende 2020 in den Ruhestand gehen – wie bereits zuvor die AC-130H Spectre.

Zitat:Back in May, we reported on the fact that U.S. Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC) really wanted to make the long-standing dream of a C-130 seaplane a reality. In fact, the so-called MC-130J Amphibious Capability, or MAC, was listed as one of its new procurement priorities. While we had a grainy little rendering of what this could look like when we filed that report, as well as other historical design concepts, we now have a far better look at exactly what they want, and yes, it is a C-130 on floats.

Actually, they have put forward a number of similar floatplane concepts, some more traditional looking while others are more streamlined, conformal, and futuristic looking. The capability appears to include the requirement for amphibious operations. In other words, the MC-130 can still land on a runway with the floats fitted. You can see the renderings AFSOC has posted throughout this article.

Zitat:Our First Look At The Tiny Cruise Missile That Aims To Arm AC-130 Gunships

Special Operations Command sees a mini-cruise missile as a top priority that will help ensure the relevance of AC-130s and other aircraft. [...]

We now have our first glimpse of a mini-cruise missile U.S. Special Operations Command (SOCOM) is currently developing and says is one of its top priorities. The weapon could be launched from AC-130J Ghostrider gunships and MC-130J Commando II special operations tanker/transport aircraft, and potentially other platforms. New stand-off strike capabilities like this are seen as key to ensuring the relevance of aircraft like the AC-130J and MC-130J in future high-end conflicts, such as a potential one in the Pacific against China. [...]

The picture from the Small Cruise Missile Test is very low quality and it is difficult to make any significant details about the design. It does appear to have an x-shaped tail fin arrangement and apertures on its body. From what can be seen, there do appear to be some broad similarities between this weapon and the ADM-160 Miniature Air-Launched Decoy (MALD). The former could potentially be related in some way to the latter, but at this time, we don't know.