To fight and survive in hostile airspace, US Air Force special operators may take the big gun off their 'Ghostrider' gunships

Wed, 12/27/2023 - 06:37

AC-130J Ghostrider — An AC-130J, its cannons visible, over Wisconsin in July 2021.
US Air Force/Senior Airman Miranda Mahoney

The US Air Force is gearing up for a potential conflict with well-armed adversaries.
As a part of that, the service is rethinking what aircraft it has and how they're designed.
One change the Air Force is considering is removing the big gun from the AC-130 gunship.

The US Air Force is gearing up for a potential conflict with near-peer adversaries, namely China and Russia, who could challenge its operations in a way it hasn't experienced in decades.