![]() After its introduction on the AC-130E Pave Aegis gunship in 1972, the airborne 105mm howitzer proved itself to be both particularly deadly and accurate. An 105mm high-explosive round costs approximately $400, while a Hellfire missile can cost up to $100,000, depending on the variant.įrom the Vietnam War onward, well-trained gunship crews repeatedly demonstrated their ability to destroy relatively small enemy concentrations while leaving the surrounding areas untouched, even in densely packed urban areas. ![]() And cannon shells and artillery rounds are just cheaper than precision guided munitions. The AC-130W provides reconnaissance over friendly positions and precision ordnance to targets in support of ground forces across. As it stands now, the AC-130W's wing pylons can only carry eight SDBs or Hellfires, though crews can reload the aircraft's Griffin missile launcher in flight. An AC-130W Stinger II assigned to the 27th Special Operations Wing at Cannon Air Force Base, N.M., receives fuel from a KC-135 Stratotanker assigned to McConnell AFB, Kan., Aug. With a gun, crews could shift their focus to new targets much faster than with missiles or bombs and lay down a much higher volume of fire, too. Historically, the benefit of the side-firing gunship concept has been the aircraft’s ability to fire very precisely at specific points on the ground.
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