During Vietnam War, AC-130 gunships was used to destroy enemy supply lines. In recent years, the Hercules gunships have shifted towards using longer-range precision guided weapons like Hellfire anti-tank missiles and GBU-39 Small Diameter Bombs. The US Air Force launched a pilot program recently to install a high-energy Laser on the AC-130J gunship. The laser weapon system will allow the gunship to injure combatants or damage equipment at long distances.
Lockheed Martin has been selected by the Air Force Special Operations Command to create a new laser weapon system that will be used on its AC-130J gunships. The 60-kilowatt Airborne High Energy Laser (AHEL), a laser weapon capable of vaporizing targets at long distances, is a 60-kilowatt weapon. The laser can be used to destroy various targets in the air and on the ground. The weapon can also detonate enemy ammunition dumps. Lockheed Martin, the Air Force, and Lockheed Martin plan to test AHEL on AC-130J gunships in the near future. The weapon will eventually be installed on the AC-130J. The aircraft will also be able operate in clandestine missions.
Air Force Special Operations Command has long been thinking about a laser weapon. The AC-130J Ghostrider can attack enemy at long ranges using the laser weapon system. It will not leave any trace of the attack. The laser weapon system can be used to strike targets at great distances without the need for optics. The laser can be mounted to the aircraft's bottom. This will enable the aircraft to carry out covert attacks, which could be used in the future.
The Air Force plans to mount the laser weapon on AC-130J Ghostrider gunships in the next few years. The Air Force has already completed the initial design work, and the contractor is currently working on the implementation and testing of the weapon. The next stage of testing will include ground and air testing as well as the installation of weapon on the AC-130J. According to the Air Force's statement, it expects to begin testing the laser weapon system during the fiscal year 2022.
The US Air Force will continue its testing of the AC-130J aircraft's laser system, and the contractor intends to start integrating a weapon system onto the AC-130J the following year. AC-130J aircraft is very heavy and could limit its range. However, the AHEL can be used to prevent air defense from preventing the gunship from reaching its target. The Ghostrider will be able to fire precision-guided ammunition, including GBU-39 Small Diameter Bombs (Hellfire missiles), and AGM-176 Griffin anti-tank weapons.
The next stage of the AHEL program will require the laser to be fully integrated with the aircraft's beam control system. In 2022, the Air Force will begin flight testing of this system on the AC-130J Ghostrider. The contractor hasn't yet revealed when testing will begin but the contract calls to have a test flight of this system before the end of fiscal year 2023.