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🇺🇸 AC-130J Ghostrider
Air · Lockheed Martin / Boeing (silah entegrasyonu) — ABD · 2017 (ilk operasyonel; C-130J-30 gövde tabanlı)
The AC-130J Ghostrider is a U.S. special-operations gunship built on the C-130J-30 airframe that delivers fire support by circling (loitering) over a target for hours, firing from the side. It combines a 105 mm M102 howitzer, a 30 mm GAU-23/A cannon, and wing/ramp-launched precision munitions (GBU-39 SDB, AGM-114 Hellfire, AGM-176 Griffin, GBU-69). Despite unmatched firepower and long loiter endurance, its slow, large low-altitude profile makes it effective only in environments where air superiority has been secured; it is fragile against modern layered air defenses.
Specifications
- Type: Fixed-wing gunship / CAS-ISR platform
- Manufacturer/Origin: Lockheed Martin (airframe) + Boeing (weapons integration), USA
- Dimensions: Length 29.8 m · Wingspan 40.4 m · Height 11.9 m
- Max takeoff weight: ~74,400 kg (164,000 lb)
- Powerplant: 4 × Rolls-Royce AE 2100D3 turboprops, 4,700 shp each
- Range/Speed: Range ~4,800 km (extended by aerial refueling) · Speed ~670 km/h · Ceiling ~8,500 m
- Main armament: 105 mm M102 howitzer + 30 mm GAU-23/A Bushmaster cannon (~200 rounds/min)
- Precision munitions: 8 × wing-pylon GBU-39 SDB / AGM-114 Hellfire; 10 ramp-launched Common Launch Tubes (GBU-69, AGM-176 Griffin)
- Sensors: EO/IR turret, synthetic-aperture vision; upgrade: APG-83 AESA radar
- Crew: ~9 (2 pilots, 2 combat systems officers, sensor/weapon operators)
- Unit cost: ~US$65 million (37-aircraft fleet ~US$2.4 billion)
Beats: A-10 Thunderbolt II (ABD) — çok daha uzun loiter süresi, 105 mm obüs ağır ateş gücü ve aynı anda çok hedef tutma; A-10 her geçişte tek hücum yapabilir, MQ-9 Reaper (ABD) — anlık toplam ateş hacmi (105/30 mm + 8 hassas mühimmat) MQ-9'un dört Hellfire/birkaç bombasının çok üstünde, dakikalarca süreli yoğun destek sağlar, Su-25 Frogfoot (Rusya) — hassas güdümlü mühimmat çeşitliliği ve gece/EO-IR hedefleme ile çok daha doğru ve uzun süreli destek; Su-25 esasen serbest-düşüş ve roketle sınırlı
Loses to: F-35A Lightning II (ABD) — düşük gözlemlenebilirlik ve füzyon sensörleriyle çekişmeli/IADS'li hava sahasında hayatta kalır; Ghostrider alçak-yavaş profiliyle aynı sahaya giremez, A-10 Thunderbolt II (ABD) — titanyum banyo zırhı, ikiz motor ve daha çevik profille SHORAD/MANPADS ortamında AC-130J'den belirgin daha hayatta kalır ve çok daha ucuzdur, MQ-9 Reaper (ABD) — mürettebatsız olması ve kat kat düşük birim maliyeti sayesinde riskli/uzun bekleme görevlerinde kayıp halinde insan ve maliyet açısından çok üstün
Scores reflect an in-role comparison, not a one-on-one duel. The AC-130J is a devastating CAS/loiter asset, but it only works in a permissive, low-to-medium threat environment where air superiority is established; against a modern layered IADS (long-range SAM + AESA), its low-slow-large profile makes it high-risk. The AGM-190A Havoc Spear plus the AESA upgrade is an effort to ease that limit by shifting it toward standoff strike. The range score reflects not the airframe's ferry range but primarily its weapon/effect range (short-to-medium, growing with standoff).
Related systems
Same manufacturer (Lockheed Martin / Boeing (silah entegrasyonu) — ABD): F-22 Raptor
Related systems (Air): KAAN, Bayraktar KIZILELMA, ANKA-3, Bayraktar TB2, Bayraktar Akıncı, Vyriy OPTO 10, Skydagger, AKBABA, GÖKTUĞ (Gökdoğan/Bozdoğan), SOM
