30mm Cannon Tested for Spooky Gunships
Knight Ridder | March 10, 2008
HURLBURT FIELD, Fla. - One type of gun aboard AC-130U gunships based here is so old that it's difficult to find replacement parts.
Another type of gun is modern, but its rapid-fire spray of shells is tough to contain, making the rotary cannon less than ideal for destroying targets amid people and property that should go untouched.
As a result, the Air Force Special Operations Command at Hurlburt Field is looking at refitting each of its Spooky gunships with two Bushmaster 30 mm cannons. The big 105 mm howitzers would stay.
One Bushmaster would replace the ancient but reliable Bofors 40 mm cannon and the frenetic, shorter-range 25 mm gun with five barrels. The rearmament program is still in the test and evaluation phase.
Installing and then integrating the Bushmasters into a U-model gunship's fire control system was the subject of a lively presentation at the recent Society of Experimental Test Pilots Southeast Section symposium on Okaloosa Island.
Two Airmen from the 413th Flight Test Squadron at Hurlburt offered fellow engineers and pilots insights into what has gone right and wrong.
Lt. Col. Geno Wagner said that there have been 12 days of ground testing the 30 mm gun system and 26 flight test missions.
He and Capt. Chris Sverkounov talked about installing the guns, one forward and the other just aft of the main gear wheel well, and their "trainable" mounts. All the gunship's guns protrude from portals on the left side.
The Airmen also mentioned lessons that have been learned. Among fixes was enlarging the eject chute on the belt-fed Bushmaster near the cockpit to prevent shell links from jamming.
One ongoing challenge is making sure the 30 mm cannons consistently fire with accuracy. The Airmen showed video footage of an airborne test mission, which included firing a Bushmaster that missed its target, a tank.
To salve their pride, the aircrew chose another option, that one resembling training more than test.
"Before going home, we would kill the target with the 105," said Sverkounov to laughs from the audience.
The 4th Special Operations Squadron at Hurlburt operates 13 Spooky gunships, according to an Air Force fact sheet. No AC-130Us have been fitted with Bushmasters that can be used in combat, added an AFSOC spokeswoman.