An AC-130U Spooky gunship at Hurlburt Field, Fla., is now armed with the 30 mm Bushmaster cannon. The new gun replaces the elderly 40 mm cannon and the newer 25 mm cannon, both of which are hard to maintain. The 25 mm also lacks air burst capability. The Bushmaster cannon fires 200 rounds a minute, faster than the 40 mm and a little slower than the 25 mm gun but with less scatter. Air Force Special Operations Command will flight test the new 30 mm-armed AC-130U through May, turning it over to the 4th Special Operations Squadron in July. AFSOC plans to upgrade three more Spooky gunships by December 2007, and—depending on funding—the rest of the fleet would receive the new cannon by Fiscal 2010.
The Chinese spy balloon may have popped, but funding to protect against similar threats is inflating, according to the Department of Defense. The high-attitude surveillance balloon that traversed the U.S. in late January and early February prompted last-minute additions to the Pentagon's budget of around $90 million for measures to…