Quote:
Originally Posted by vreihen16
Interesting article about the Air Force's "Rapid Dragon" initiative to use large cargo planes as attack platforms by using palletized weapons:
https://www.businessinsider.com/soco...-weapon-2024-3
Sort of makes sense when the C-17 can carry three times as many long-range precision munitions (such as cruise missiles) as a B-52 bomber..... |
I take @flybigjet's point on the vulnerability of cargo aircraft to air defenses, but if you eliminate the palletized part of the concept, you potentially are talking about an AC-130 gunship, which does routinely operate over the heads of Bad Guys and has the EW equipment and an EWO to help keep it safe. The C-17, not so much. As far as the pallets of weapons, I suspect an AC-130J cannot open the rear ramp and there would be equipment in the way of any pallets anyway. The article mentions MC-130Js and C-17s. The MC-130J, like its AC brother, has a decent countermeasures capability, I think.
If the C-17A production line -- long cold -- were hot, I suppose you could consider an AC-17.
