Are they an effective, cheaper alternative to heavy aircraft like the AC130 for air support?>Pic-related is an AC235 by KADDB and Orbital ATK
>>64686557It would have to be a lot cheaper than anything in order to justify itself. An apache already has those weapons. A couple drones could have those weapons between them (minus the cannon). An f-16 has those weapons.
Why don't they export the AC-130 anyway?They export the C-130 to all countries, heck even if vatnikstan wanted C-130s they'd be approved by Congress.It's still a C-130 in the end, just with cannons, guns and bombs.
>>64686557There's not much point anymore, if you have access to reliable drone comms plus APKWS2. I wouldn't be shocked if the current AC-130s weren't the last ones.
>>64686641Because no one probably wants them. It's a niche aircraft for actually fighting a near peer, so it's something that you'd only really want if you're (a) doing a lot of expeditionary fighting against dirt farmers and (b) have a large enough air force that you can get away with the highly specialized birds. Basically, the USAF and the pre-2022 RuAF would be the only real customers.
>>64686658>>64686641Indians should get them though, they're Western allies against China and should be armed with superior western aerospace tech
>>64686829gr8 b8 m8
>>64686829So they can piss them away with it competence like the rafales?
