Gunship ideas

[GTX]

Oddball gunship:   The Hindenberg, but helium based gas bags.

Daryl J.

Regards,

Greg

[r16]

ok ,  it is only the cartridge .Thanks to joncarfarrelly for the clarification .

[Weaver]

Here's a thought: could you fire ATGWs sideways from a gunship? Most gunships are based on transport types with high tails: seems to me that you could put say, 4 x Hellfires or AT-6 Spirals (wire guidance is out for obvious reasons) on a turntable under the tail. They'd be in the wake of the fuselage whichever way they pointed, so slewing them shouldn't cause a drag problem. They could even slide forwards into the cargo bay on a rail for transit and/or reloading.

Of course, the fact that I have a spare Hind-D/E kit had no bearing on this post or the previous one about a 12.7mm + 30mm Russian gunship...........

[Shasper]

You would have to do a mid-air start on the missile to keep from  blowtorching the side of the fuselage, or in case of underwing mounting, possible fueltank rupture & subsequent fire.

Shas

[elmayerle]

I note in today's news that JSOCOM is pushing hard to prototype an AC-27J "SPectre Lite".  That'd actually make a lot of sense.

[AeroplaneDriver]

I was just reading about the same thing Evan.

http://www.flightglobal.com/blogs/the-dewline/2008/07/new-ac27j-gunship-moves-forwar.html

[Weaver]

You would have to do a mid-air start on the missile to keep from  blowtorching the side of the fuselage, or in case of underwing mounting, possible fueltank rupture & subsequent fire.

Shas

That's why I want them under the tail, so the exhaust blast just goes straight out the other side. I'll try to do a quick graphic......

Here we go:

[Shasper]

Ah gotcha. . . .

IIRC there's some interest to stick Hellfires/ Joint-whatever missiles under the wings. . . fwd firing of course.
Anyone know what the AC-27 might be packing? I think the armament would top out at 30mm due to amount of recoil of heavier caliber weapons vs the size of the airframe ie the potential yawing motion placed on the a/c by a 40mm gun (IK the Bofor is being pulled from the U-boats, just using the 40 as an example)

Shas

[LemonJello]

Could you mount some version of Javelin in the hull (maybe like the sonobuoy launchers on a P-3)?  Isn't it a "cold launch" weapon, one that can be used in enclosed spaces without injuring the launch crew with backblast?  I'm sure you'd have to vent some gasses out of the compartment, but nothing like a Hellfire/TOW/etc. 

What sensor packages would be best for the gunship role?  IR/Thermal/TV?  Direct Predator/Global Hawk feeds?

[Maverick]

Shas,

I thought the 40s were being pulled from the U-boats because of the introduction of newer rotary cannon with a similar lethality but smaller footprint in the a/c? 

AC-27J sounds like a workable concept though and a good partner for Spectre although I assume it will be a nocturnal mission for them in most instances still?

LJ,

I'd suggest all of the above, plus Passive NVDs, Radar and laser to boot.

Regards,

Mav

[Shasper]

Mav,

From what I can remember, the reason the Bofors are being pulled is because they're old as sin & just as hard to keep in-line. Seems the AF is replacing both the 25mm & the 40 with the Hughes 30mm (same as what the Apache wields), at least thats what I heard.

Personally for the AC-27 I'd like to see some small caliber weapons, a 20 or 25mm gatling, and a 25mm Bushmaster or the Hughes 30mm, in addition to the stuff mention previously.

Shas

[Maverick]

Shas,

Makes sense entirely, the Bofors would have to be Vietnam vintage at least, which is pretty sad, but I guess the Chain Gun has a fairly hefty punch either way.  I wonder about the use of GAU-8 off a larger airframe like the U-boat (or dare I say C-17???).  Could they get the recoil dynamics down to a bearable level to make the fit worthwhile?  I've often heard that the Hog can suffer a significant loss of airspeed when the Avenger burps too loudly, but it would be a nice addition to a gunships arsenal.

Salt,

Funny you should mention that, I've seen a photo of a Vietnam-era Bird Dog with an M60 rigged to fire laterally, then there's always the Couriers and Peacemakers that the sneaky petes were toolling around with.

Regards,

Mav

[Burncycle]

From what I can remember, the reason the Bofors are being pulled is because they're old as sin & just as hard to keep in-line. Seems the AF is replacing both the 25mm & the 40 with the Hughes 30mm (same as what the Apache wields), at least thats what I heard.

It's the bushmaster 30mm (firing 30 x 173 as opposed to the apache's 30 x 113)

Here's a photo with them mounted during the evals: http://www2.afsoc.af.mil/shared/media/photodb/photos/070126-F-8732E-006.JPG

The C-27 is probably going to sport the bushmaster as well.

Personally I think the 40mm CTA or the Bushy 35/50 supershot has a lot of potential for gunship applications.

[MAD]

I note in today's news that JSOCOM is pushing hard to prototype an AC-27J "SPectre Lite".  That'd actually make a lot of sense.

I was wondering about the feasibility of the adoption of the G.222 (now C-27) as a tactical/cost effective airborne gunship about 15-years ago.
I still envisaged the use of a 105mm howitzer though, utilizing modern low recoil technology that had been developed for lighter wheeled AFV.
Utilizing a FLIR turret etc.......
I thought this arrangement would have been good in the service of Australia, Thailand, Philippines, and South Africa etc.

M.A.D

[Daryl J.]

How about a row of guns that can raise to level or depress to -20 degrees under the wings of a CRJ-700?



Daryl J.