Originally Posted by
Cooperd0g
Well, I guess Deuce went into a few of them. I completely agree that in the very permissive threat environment we are currently in they are fantastic, but even in this current environment they still have some limitations.
Yes, they still have some limitations, but what does that have to do with the price of tea in China? Every aircraft is going to have its limitations. That doesn't take away from the fact that they (gunships) are the weapon of choice for CAS when the troops on the ground want persistent/precise firepower when they find themselves taking fire.
Originally Posted by
Deuce130
We're probably talking about two different things here. For DA type missions where it's basically a kick in the door type thing (like we're doing now) or armed recce type thing (also now), then yes, I agree that AC-130s are the preferred platform. If it's more of a setting conditions type thing, or higher threat level, or conventional assets conducting larger scale maneuvers, then the Gunship may not be the choice asset. Cooper said the guys in cammo may prefer fighters when doing serious work. You said only when HDLD (what you meant was gunpigs) weren't available. I guess it depends on which guys in cammo and what work they're doing. I'm definitely not throwing spears at the gunship community - I have lots of friends there who've done great work. I'm just trying to point out parochialism when I think I see it, which I think is the bane of joint ops. We're all just cogs in the US military machine, sometimes people take what they fly or what they do a little too seriously.
As was I when I attempted to point out that fighters aren't the only aircraft in the fight. If I may remind you where this started:
Originally Posted by
Cooperd0g
Because of the UAV's inability to carry significant destructive loads, fighters are still the preferred aircraft when the boys in cammo are doing some serious work.
I don't take what I fly too seriously; heck, I'm nearing my final day after 20 years and am waiting to hear what my class start date is. But occasionally I like to remind those whose minds are fighter-centric that there are some sub-sonic aircraft and crews out there putting a serious thumping on the enemy. Amazingly, I see this attitude in theater. One fast mover platform comes into replace another and wants to try to tell us how to coordinate ops together. It just makes a gunship guy grin; "How about listening for a sec Turbo, Burner, or whatever you go by, and we'll start with what's worked for the past 6+ years we've been here and then we'll see if we can improve on that?" Then they leave a year or two later and we start over again with the new guys.