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The New A/MC-130W - The Dragon Spear


jimsmith130
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Enter the Dragon Spear: Air Force Special Operations Command is currently fielding four MC-130W Combat Spear special-mission aircraft that are modified with a precision strike package (PSP) that gives them a gunship-like attack capability, Adm. Eric Olson, head of US Special Operations Command, told the Senate Armed Services Committee Tuesday. Converting these aircraft, which are henceforth dubbed Dragon Spears, is one means of quickly bolstering AFSOC's aging gunship fleet that is continually in high demand in Southwest Asia. Olson said ongoing improvements for these modified MC-130Ws include sensor upgrades, the integration of a standoff precision-guided munitions system and supporting 30 mm gun, a new sensor operator console as well as new communication equipment and flight deck hardware. The PSP is modular and scalable so it could be integrated on to other airframes, he noted.

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friendly fire incident waiting to happen, poor training plan and in a rush to get it done

x2.

Lots of new hardware, lots of 'hurryitup-itis', lots of new aircrews and all relying on a computer to get it right. Not knocking the crewdogs, but caution should be the word of the day here . . .

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friendly fire incident waiting to happen, poor training plan and in a rush to get it done

x2.

Lots of new hardware, lots of 'hurryitup-itis', lots of new aircrews and all relying on a computer to get it right. Not knocking the crewdogs, but caution should be the word of the day here . . .

We have the Marine version here at Pax. If I didn't know any better I'd think that you two have been sitting in on some of our meetings...

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We have the Marine version here at Pax. If I didn't know any better I'd think that you two have been sitting in on some of our meetings...

I'm not so concerned righ now, when the bird is first fielded. Everyone will be cautious. It's a few years down the road that worries me, after everybody is used to the new systems and capabilities.

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I don't know, I am dubious about its effectiveness at best.

Usually when you try to do several very diverse missions, it always seems that it will do neither well, and you sacrifice efficiency/effectiveness for multiplicity.

Users are (or at least when I retired) just screaming for tanker support that we could only fill a quarter of what was needed, so now you are going to decrease the tanker support even more to fill shooting missions?

Dont get me wrong, I couldn't think of many things more fun than greasing gomers with a 30mm - sweeeeet :) but that eats into AR time, infil/exfil time, airdrop time and CSAR time.

They should have carried forward with the gunship lite C-27 with a mounted 30mm.

Dan

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Socom Refines AC-130J Gunship Plans

http://www.aviationweek.com/aw/gener...unship%20Plans

U.S. Special Operations Command (Socom) is planning to base its future AC-130J gunship on the modular “Precision Strike Package†that it is quietly and quickly fielding on the MC-130W.

This is a major departure from today’s AC-130H/U configuration, which wields the characteristic side-mounted 105-mm. howitzer and a 40-mm. gun. The decision also reflects a shift in the command’s approach to purchasing new weapons, indicating a bent toward a rapidly achievable, low-cost program using a joint task force for purchasing.

At one point, Air Force Special Operations Command officials were hoping for a stealthy gunship capable of deploying high-energy weapons. And last year, they were eyeing a C-27J-based gunship, which would have been a smaller cousin to the large C-130 based designs, but that effort was dashed by Congress.

The Quadrennial Defense Review released in February, however, mandates the replacement of eight legacy AC-130H Spectre gunships with eight new AC‑130Js. Another eight will be purchased to grow the fleet, bringing the total new buy to 16. The Air Force will retain the 17 AC-130Us now in operation, so the future gunship fleet will number 33.

Gunships are in very high demand to support ground troops with day/night precision fires in Iraq, Afghanistan and other operations abroad; the increased pace of operations has resulted in high wear and tear on the fleet, prompting the need for additional airframes.

Socom’s new approach to a gunship design is part of its attempt to standardize platforms in order to ease procurement, cost of maintenance and logistics, and operations. Today’s fleet consists of few numbers of varied platforms.

Officials also hope a modular design will allow for fast addition of new capabilities for precise close air support and upgrades in the future, Socom Deputy Acquisition Director James Geurts tells Aviation Week. “Instead of having a family of airplanes now, think of it as having a family of precision strike capabilities that we can port onto different [special Operations Forces] platforms,†he says. “I can just pick it up and put it on an [MC-130W], and we are going to put it on the [AC-130]J. So that is a mind-set change from a couple of years ago.â€

Socom is in the midst of preparing what it calls the Precision Strike Package, a rapidly reconfigurable collection of sensors, communications and weapons, for fielding soon, Geurts says. A specific date was not provided due to mission security. The package includes electro-optical and infrared targeting systems, the 35-50-lb. Special Operations Precision Guided Munitions (Sopgms) and a side-mounted 30-mm. gun. The Sopgms—Northrop Grumman’s Viper Strike and Raytheon’s Griffin weapons—will be launched through tubes mounted on the MC-130W’s ramp. The gun will be bolted to the floor and hang through the side of the fuselage; it will be removable depending on mission requirements.

This configuration differs from the U.S. Marine Corps’ palletized, roll-on/roll-off weaponization kit for its KC‑130J refuelers. Testing of this so-called Harvest Hawk system will wrap up this month, and it will deploy to Afghanistan shortly thereafter, according to Maj. J.P. Pellegrino, KC-130 requirements officer for the Marine Corps. The second and third kits are slated for operations in the fall, and nine will be purchased by the service. This kit was developed to provide suppressive fire, while Socom’s work is aimed at precision.

Socom’s Dragon Spear, the marriage of the MC-130W and the Precision Strike Package, grew out of an urgent requirement passed down by Defense Secretary Robert Gates for the rapid deployment of more armed overwatch assets. The MC-130W Combat Spear is designed to provide covert infiltration and exfiltration of elite forces, and it was selected as the first platform to carry this new precision strike capability.

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From the Air Force Times:

The new gunship for the Air Force and U.S. Special Operations Command will look a lot like the old one, despite earlier, more ambitious visions that included a stealth plane equipped with a laser cannon.

The wars in Afghanistan and Iraq have forced the Air Force to set more realistic expectations to speed things up, and the C-130J cargo plane fits the bill, according to the Air Force’s 2011 budget request.

The service plans to buy 16 C-130Js to replace the last eight of its Vietnam-era gunships — converted C-130Hs called AC-130H Spectres.

The decision to go with the C-130J comes after two decades of debate over the performance requirements for the next-generation gunship.

The Air Force plans to set aside $1.6 billion through 2015 to buy the 16 C-130Js, according to the Air Force’s proposed budget, submitted Feb. 1 to Congress. U.S. Special Operations Command would pay for the cargo planes to be equipped with targeting sensors and ground attack weapons. The conversion cost could surpass the price of buying the basic cargo planes.

The C-130Js would boost the gunship fleet to 33, adding to 17 AC-130U Spooky gunships that were introduced into the force 16 years ago. Delivery of the new gunships is planned for 2017.

Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz, who oversaw AC-130 gunship operations as a wing commander in the mid-1990s, said the new gunship should have a single cannon and a new capability to launch precision-guided munitions. Today’s gunships have two cannons — 105mm and 40mm — but cannot fire guided missiles or drop bombs. Sensors onboard the new gunship will allow the crew to find and track targets night and day, the same as existing gunships, Schwartz said.

While the C-130J looks like the older C-130s, the J-model’s glass cockpit and digital avionics mean gunship engineers must create new software to merge control of the cannon and guided weapons with the gunship’s sensors and flight controls.

Plans also are underway to equip special operations MC-130W Combat Spear aircraft with a package that could include a 30mm gun, targeting sensors and the ability to release guided weapons like the Hellfire missile. The Marine Corps is pursuing a similar package for its KC-130Js.

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