Just when you thought the AC-130U couldn’t get any nastier, here comes somebody ready to install a standoff weapon. The Air Force wants to give the gunship a so-called “Viper Strike” precision munition to go along with its 25 mm gun. The project is underway as an advanced concept technology demonstration. The Viper is a small weapon with glide fins and a high explosive tank-killing warhead, ideal for destroying mobile targets at standoff range. The capability will enhance the close air support capability of the gunship, which has been used widely—with grisly success—in Afghanistan and Iraq. Northrop Grumman is carrying out the work at its Huntsville, Ala. Facility. Look for a demonstration by end of 2006.
The Space Force should take bold, decisive steps—and soon—to develop the capabilities and architecture needed to support more flexible, dynamic operations in orbit and counter Chinese aggression and technological progress, according to a new report from AFA’s Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies.
