AC-130W Dragon Spear CAS

Machinery of War Discussion Aircraft
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The AC-130W Gunship would be a great addition to the game as a CAS support vehicle. Aside from its Electronic Warfare abilities, it also is outfitted with DIRCM and AGM missiles.

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The AC-130W Gunship can carry:

AGM-88E HARM
AGM-176 Griffin x 10 (+8 more on wings) = 18 total.
AGM 114N Fire and Forget Hellfires.
GBU-39/A
GBU-53/B SDB II
BGU-44/B Viper Strike
30mm Canon
40mm Bofors
105mm Howitzer
25mm Gau-12/U
20mm M61
7.62mm MXU-470

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The AC-130W is outfitted with the JHMCS Stinger II HMD or the Thales’ Scorpion Full Color helmet mounted cueing system. 360 degree pass through Day, Night, and Thermal vision for the pilots and gunners.

Currently 12+ AC-130Ws are in active service. The AC-130W is equipped with MAWS, Flare & Chaff dispensers, INS, ECM, and targeting sensors.

https://www.af.mil/About-Us/Fact-Sheets/Display/Article/104485/ac-130w-stinger-ii/

AGM-88E Harm - Air to Ground Anti-Radiation Missile. Guidance: GPS/INS, Anti-Radiation Homing, Millimeter Wave ARH, Multi-spectral guidance. Speed Mach 2+ (classified). Warhead WAU-7/B. Range 60 Miles (100km).

AGM-176A Griffin - Air to Ground Fire and Forget Rocket. Guidance GPS/INS, or Laser. Can be programmed at launch with INS/GPS as fire and forget. Blast fragment ordinance. Speed is subsonic. Range 12 Miles(20km).

AGM-114L Longbow - Air to Ground Fire and Forget Missile. Millimeter wave radar guided with INS. Range 5 Miles (8+ KM)

AGM 114N - Air to Ground Fire and Forget Miissile. Guidance Millimeter wave RADAR with INS and Laser. Warhead is Metal Augmented Charge Thermobaric. Range 5 Miles (8+ KM)

GBU-39/A Small Diameter Bomb. Datalink Multiple Track Targeting with communication to ensure each bomb doesn’t strike the same target. Guidance is Datalink/System Fusion + INS/GPS. Range 40 Miles (64km).

GBU-53/B Stormbreak Small Diameter Bomb II. Guidance = Tri-link. Datalink with Link 16 (can be driven from any source in System Fusion including ground systems, ship systems or AWACS.). GPS/INS. Warhead = Shaped Charge + Blast Fragmentation for dual purpose. Range 46 Miles (74km).

GBU-44/B Viper Strike. Glide bomb with GPS/INS, Laser Guidance with ImIR Imaging Infrared terminal guidance assistance . Warhead = HE Tandem-Shaped-Charge(TSC). Range 15+ Miles (24km). Passive guidance intended to prevent launch warning).

105mm Howitzer. Munitions include PGM (GPS/INS guided), C76A1 KE Tungsten round, VLAP, PFF, HE, RP Incendiary, Smoke, IR Illumination, Visible Illumination, and more. Potential range 15+ Miles (24+km) standard 19 Miles (30km+) Basebleed.

Some variants have the 105mm removed for classified weapon systems (high energy weapons, laser weapons, and rail guns are all in testing).

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donald trump is giving a speech on cnn and says nope , absolutely not

Also why are some of the photos made out of lego bricks?

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Because I love legos and so do my boys. So why not?

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You cant use legos to suggest vehicles.

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I posted an original photo of the aircraft, the legos are just more fun.

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yes but these are clearly for illustrative purposes of whats actually done irl

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I would first need to hear how this is going to be balanced first, before deciding whenever yes or no.

Because just as with the C-130 with MOAB suggestion few weeks back

BR of this thing is either going to be so high its useless or so low it has no counter.

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As much as I love the AC-130 it simply has no viability in this game. Given the mechanics and how it operates it would be shot down every single time, most likely before even getting a single shot off. It’s a CAS platform that is really only deployed in environments where it’s a guarantee that it won’t be contested, which just doesn’t exist in WT.

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Pretty much this.

Inevitably someone will suggest it being placed at BR where it can actually perform well, but it will be nightmare to play against.

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And nobody would enjoy that. Least not anyone who is sane, anyways.

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The AC-130W has DIRCM and ECM that counters the Pantsir and other SPAA. Further, it can just out range it. The standard set by War Thunder with the KA-50 is that its ok for CAS to outrange SPAA. So going by their standards this would be just fine. The Howitzer alone has GPS/INS and Laser guided munitions as well as Tungsten Rod rounds with 30km+ range.

Further more the AC-130W has directed energy weapons on some models which are capable of frying the targeting systems of other air vehicles coupled with the DIRCM it would be tough to lock onto if at all. Modern AESA RADAR systems for the F22, F35, AC-130W and others are considered capable of being directed energy weapons, and they can disable the electronics of incoming missiles as part of their ECM package. The internal radar coupled with IRST can also target and track enemy aircraft from 20km. Making it a flying SPAA the 20mm and 30mm can shoot down aircraft.

I have to disagree that no one would enjoy rocking an AC-130W.

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If you think Gaijin would allow the Pantsir to be defeated so easily then I have land in Antartica to sell you.

The rest just isn’t worth responding to in full. Far too much hassle to type. Between classifed information and how WT functions as a game, it’s just not happening. Just that simple, like it or not.

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It would not stand a chance against the Pantsir it would be shot down at the air field with how huge it is.

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Mah it gonna be useless I prefer F-16 with AGM-88 or Tornado GR4 with Brimstone at least they are it not free kill for Pantsir
seriously AC-130 look cool but even irl US will use it only when air superiority achieved (which irl US will try to do it first on the list before they send anything) in the game it not like that

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Pantsir can’t hit it. Doesn’t have enough CCM in its guidance. Air spawn start at the edge of the map like a drone at FL300, then let the operator decide what alt they want to approach at. It has enough standoff range anyways, the Pantsir can’t shoot far enough.

Plus if it gets shot down, it gets shot down, but you could deploy up to 18 AGMs before that. 10 x 176A Griffins, and then choose but you could drop 8 x GBU-44/Bs which are entirely passive and give no warning. They have a range of 15 miles and can track moving targets. No smoke, no motor, no datalink means no warning.

Edit:

The Better loadout would be:

10X 176As
4 X AGM-88E
4x GBU-44B

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Okay, so it would work like the one found on Su-39? so it would be have higher chances to defeat IR missiles, cool.

Not in game currently as far as i know.

Since DIRCM works against IR and we dont have ECM in game yet, i highly doubt that any top tier AA would be countered.

It is absolutely NOT okay for CAS to outrange SPAA.

I highly doubt that APFSDS that isnt fired like artillery shell would reach such range. Moreso I highly doubt howitzers on AC-130 are used like ground based artillery, firing at long ranges.

Again, not in the game as far as i know and i highly doubt they come any time soon.

I doubt the effective range of 20mm and 30mm is high enough to counter missiles, moreso arent they like only on one side of the plane?

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Let’s just forget about the more powerful SAMs than Pantsir. He probably hasn’t heard of such SAMs: Pantsir-SM, BUK-M2, BUK-M3, they will be even more effective in intercepting missiles and hitting targets at long distances.
And he doesn’t know how badly the radars work in the game

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Just because it currently is that way does not make it okay. If anything NO nation should be able to do so.

Its C-130 at its core, heavy with the arments. I highly doubt it can react in time to threat coming from the side that doesnt have guns on it.

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Also, and I forgot to mention - AC-130s are only permitted to fly combat sorties during the nighttime.

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No, they are not. We certainly had them covering us in Iraq.

Since you can’t pay attention. The user stated “CAS shouldn’t be able to out range SPAA” meanwhile the KA-50 and KA-52 for years now have done this exact thing. Pay attention now kiddo. Because that really means “It’s ok, only as long as soviet CAS can outrange SPAA”. Since they are currently the only ones allowed to do it.

This is off topic and shouldn’t be here. Read the rules.

This is off topic and shouldn’t be posted here, read the rules.

This is unproductive and off topic and shouldn’t be posted here, again read the rules.

Incorrect, the Pantsir cannot shoot down 18+ missiles or combination by itself. So it would still be ineffective.

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