Jun 3, 2024
AC-130W Stinger II from the 16th SOS is parked in preparation for Luke Days 2018.
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AC-130W Stinger II from the 16th SOS is parked in preparation for Luke Days 2018.
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An aerial gunner operates the AC-130W's GAU-23/A 30mm cannon., U.S. Air Force/SrA Duncan Bevan
US trials Stinger II gunships in anti-surface warfare role
Gareth Jennings, London - Jane's Defence Weekly
15 March 2020
The US military is trialling the use of the Lockheed Martin AC-130W Stinger II gunship in the anti-surface warfare (ASuW) role in the Middle East.
The Department of Defense (DoD) announced on 15 March that US Navy (USN) Cyclone-class patrol coastal ships (PC) and Boeing P-8A Poseidon maritime multimission aircraft (MMA) assigned to US Naval Forces Central Command (NAVCENT) had conducted "a first-of-its-kind" joint exercise with US Air Force (USAF) AC-130W gunships assigned to Special Operations Command Central (SOCCENT) on 8 and 9 March.
According to the DoD, the exercises were designed to enhance the capabilities of US forces to respond to surface threats and involved P-8 aircraft performing long-range reconnaissance ahead of PCs selecting simulated surface targets for the AC-130W to engage.
"This exercise mark[ed] the first time these assets ha[d] been integrated in direct support of maritime security operations in the Arabian Gulf," the DoD said.
The AC-130W Stinger II (formerly known as Dragon Spear) is a gunship-variant of the C-130 Hercules transport aircraft and is flown by the Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC). It is armed with a GAU-23 Bushmaster 30 mm cannon, a 105 mm gun, and stand-off precision-guided munitions such as the Boeing GBU-39 Small Diameter Bomb (SDB) and Raytheon's AGM-176A Griffin missile. AFSOC has 12 such aircraft in its inventory, flying alongside C-130-gunship variants such as the AC-130J Ghostrider.
These joint exercises are in support of the USN's Destroyer Squadron (DESRON) 50/Combined Task Force (CTF) 55, which conducts maritime security operations in support of regional security and stability in the 5th Fleet's area of responsibility (AoR) that encompasses about 6.5 million km 2 across the Gulf, Arabian Sea, Gulf of Oman, Red Sea, and parts of the Indian Ocean.
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The sensor and weapons packed AC-130W Stinger II uses a $665 holographic gun sight to help spew fire down on the enemy.
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One interesting feature we just noticed the latest iteration of the Stinger II sporting is an EOTech holographic rifle sight mounted on the left side of the cockpit, next to the pilot. The model looks to be a version of the XPS2 which has an MSRP of $665.
XPS2
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Regardless, the AC-130W, which never had a side-mounted HUD to our knowledge, now appears to have the very off-the-shelf holographic gunsight in this position. It's certainly there to help Stinger II pilots coordinate their deadly circles in the sky, but we have no idea if it can actually be used to engage targets, although it seems quite unlikely as it wouldn't have the computing power that a full-up HUD has.
Still, it's pretty wild to think that the world's largest flying gun gets help aiming its brutal arsenal using a lowly rifle sight that is more at home on a soldier's carbine, or even at your local shooting range, than on a front-line combat aircraft. Then again, maybe it isn't that surprising considering F-15 squadrons mounted high-power rifle scopes in their cockpit for long-range visual identification purposes for many years due to lack of a better or at least fully funded solution.
Watch an AC-130W Gunship refuel over Iraq and then disappear into the night Via The Avionist
animated gif from Twitter