Gunship Offers Awesome Firepower

The AC-130 gunship that the U.S. military has begun to use in Afghanistan can pump out cannon and artillery fire at a withering 2,500 rounds per minute, making it one of the most lethal ground-attack aircraft ever developed.

The gunship’s rain of destruction has previously had a terrifying effect on the troops below--a key reason the Pentagon has called it into service against Taliban forces, officials say.

“They circle the target. They make a fierce noise. And they just obliterate everything,” said retired Army Gen. Wesley K. Clark, who commanded NATO forces in the 1999 air campaign against Yugoslavia. “They are one of the most terrifying things imaginable if you are underneath them.”

Marine Lt. Gen. Gregory Newbold, director of operations for the Joint Chiefs of Staff, agreed. “The psychological effect here is very important,” he said Tuesday.

The gunship has several missions, including armed reconnaissance and the interdiction of other aircraft. But its primary task is to act as sort of a flying firebase to back up special operations units, which, because they must move swiftly, carry light arms.

In this type of mission, the turboprop AC-130 flies slowly around its target, while the five-barreled, 25-millimeter Gatling guns and 40-millimeter and 105-millimeter cannon pump out fire.

Often, the AC-130 is used to attack troops, but its explosive shells can destroy vehicles and buildings.

Its guns are guided by a computerized system that enables them to maintain precise aim while the aircraft circles the target.

The AC-130 is an effective choice “when you’ve got to blow up only the enemy’s side of the street,” said John Pike, a defense analyst at GlobalSecurity.org, a northern Virginia research concern.