The Air Force is starting to diversify the modern gunship’s capabilities, and the recent incorporation of SDB glide bombs and Griffin missiles gives the gunship a standoff attack capability it previously lacked. The Air Force’s long line of gunships has traditionally emphasized firepower over all else. The AC-130J is designed to loiter high above enemy targets, bombarding enemy forces below. The AC-130J can also equip 250-pound GBU-39B Small Diameter Bombs for longer range precision strike capability, as well as the AGM-114 Hellfire and AGM-176 Griffin missile. The AC-130J is a C-130J Super Hercules transport fitted with one GAU-23/A 30-millimeter cannon and a 105-millimeter howitzer. The AC-130J Ghostrider is the latest in a long line of fixed-wing gunships dating back to the Vietnam War. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Joseph Pick/DVIDS
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