US Air Force hones future gunship plans (Replace AC-130)

JANE’S DEFENCE WEEKLY – SEPTEMBER 01, 2004

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US Air Force hones future gunship plans
MICHAEL SIRAK JDW Staff Reporter
Washington, DC

The US Air Force (USAF) is moving ahead with plans to develop next-generation platforms to replace its current fleet of AC-130 gunships from 2018, according to service officials.

The Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC) told JDW that it is considering two paths to replace the AC-130s: a manned, stealthy and survivable aircraft; or a family of unmanned platforms with the same capabilities. The command now refers to these successor capabilities as the Persistent Surface Attack System of Systems (PSAS). These options emerged during the air force-sponsored analysis of alternatives that was completed in April 2003.

A manned gunship platform would probably emerge from work the service is doing on a future medium-sized, stealthy modular aircraft that could be configured for multiple roles such as a cargo jet, special operations insertion platform or aerial refuelling aircraft. Boeing and Lockheed Martin are already pursuing concepts under their respective Blended Wing Body and MACK initiatives. There is also the potential for growing synergy between the PSAS and a next-generation bomber, according to AFSOC.

While the command’s current concept for the latter option employs a constellation of three unmanned combat aircraft, it said it is continuing to study what would be the optimum number, noting that “two, five or 10 might be more cost-effective”.

Lt Col Dave Shelikoff of AFSOC’s test technology planning department said the command wants the PSAS, regardless of the option chosen, to loiter for extended periods over the battlefield and be able to apply force rapidly, precisely and discriminately. Directed-energy lasers and microwave systems are included in the weapons mix, but in later spirals.

The command says it also wants the PSAS to be able to operate independent of other platforms if required, but also to have the communications and sensor linkage to function seamlessly with other aircraft and ground assets in a network-centric (net-centric) warfighting environment.

AFSOC’s initial developmental efforts will focus on three areas: a precision-guided weapon; an organic unmanned aerial vehicle to increase the PSAS’s stand-off range and provide electro-optical coverage under clouds and weather or down ‘urban canyons’; and a Common Operation Picture and Control system to reduce the number of operators needed for the PSAS and tie it to the nascent Global Information Grid that the US is pursuing to enable netcentric activities.

The command may incorporate these three capabilities into the AC-130U and other aircraft over the next decade before the PSAS comes along, said Col Shelikoff.

The air force is interested in mounting the Active Denial System (ADS) millimetre-wave directed-energy weapon on a future C-130-like aircraft for less-than-lethal special operations roles. A smaller, High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle-mounted version is already in development.

The ADS, like all directed-energy weapons, will require megawatts (mW) of power to operate from an airborne platform. In this case, the USAF wants to design a lightweight and compact power system – a generator coupled with a turbine engine – that can produce 5MW of electricity at sea level to drive the microwave system, said Col JoAnn Erno, chief of the Power Division within the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio.

Col Erno told JDW that the AFRL intends to award a contract to industry around the end of September to develop a multi-MW superconducting generator under its Multi-megawatt Electric Power System programme. The goal is to get the total weight of the generator-engine pair down to around 2,000 lb (907kg) an order of magnitude reduction over conventional power systems, she said.

The AFRL would like to conduct a ground demonstration of a 1MW generator in Fiscal Year 2007, followed by a test by the end of 2009 of a system capable of producing at least 4mW of electricity. Flight demonstrations of the generator-engine system are envisaged early in the next decade, Col Erno said.

Because the ADS is about 60% efficient at best in its use of electricity, it will produce a tremendous amount of heat that will require new approaches to thermal management, she noted.

AC-130s get video datalink

The US Air Force continues to enhance its AC-130 gunships as it proceeds with plans to develop capabilities to replace them in coming decades. The AC-130s have seen extensive use since late 2001 in Afghanistan and Iraq, including most recently during the anti-insurgency operations in Najaf.

One initiative already under way is to incorporate a target video datalink on all AC-130s to allow troops on the ground to view the sensor video that the gunship crews use to identify and track targets. This will “dramatically” improve the time to engage time-sensitive targets and also mitigate fratricide incidents, according to the Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC).

The desire for the capability arose from warfighters in the field through a combat mission needs statement.

The command operates eight AC-130H Spectre and 13 newer and more capable AC-130U Spooky gunships. The command is also adding four AC-130Us to the fleet via C-130 conversions that are under way.

The US Congress also provided $8.5 million in Fiscal Year 2005 Defence Appropriations Act for a demonstration of the AC-130 with a ‘Protector UAV [unmanned aerial vehicle]’. An explanation of this demonstration was not available from AFSOC as JDW went to press, other than the language in the act that says it should include a Tactical Common Datalink communications suite for real-time video capability.

The air force, however, has said it would like to integrate the operations of the AC-130 more closely with UAVs. Video feeds from MQ-1 Predators can already be fed directly into the AC-130s for better situational awareness of targets.