Special Operations Gunships to Be Equipped With Improved Sensors

摘要

Air Force Special Operations Command plans to fly small, tactical off-board drones from its AC-130 gunships in combat for the first time later this year, which will give crews better views of the battlefield. Tactical off-board sensing, or TOBS, is intended to improve AFSOC's targeting capabilities in poor weather or other challenging conditions. Gunship crews spend a lot of time "looking at tops of clouds ... [thinking], 'I wish the weather would clear. Damn, I'd like to shoot what's down there but damn I can't see it,'" said Lt. Gen. Bradley Heithold, commander of AFSOC, at a Special Operations/Low-Intensity Conflict conference hosted by the National Defense Industrial Association. To solve the problem, commandos want to deploy unmanned aerial vehicles out of AC-130 gunships to provide critical intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance support.