ORLANDO, Fla. — Budget uncertainty has slowed efforts by U.S. Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC) to test a solid-state laser weapon on an AC-130 gunship, according to the command’s leader.
While AFSOC has been aiming to conduct the demonstration in 2020, it has not received all the money it needs to proceed, Air Force Lt. Gen. Brad Webb said Feb. 22.
“I would love to get a fully funded program,” Webb told reporters at the Air Force Association’s Air Warfare Symposium here.
The federal government is operating under the fifth continuing resolution (CR) for fiscal year 2018 because Congress has not finished its FY 2018 appropriations bills. The CRs generally freeze funding at FY 2017 levels.
With the recent enactment of a two-year budget agreement that calls for big boosts in defense spending in FY 2018 and 2019, lawmakers now hope to finish the appropriations bills before the current CR runs out March 23.
According to the Air Force Scientific Advisory Board, a laser mounted on an AC-130 could be used for offensive purposes, such as attacking buildings, cell towers, generators and vehicles, and to improve defenses against shoulder-launched, surface-to-air missiles (Defense Daily, Dec. 12, 2016).
In other comments, Webb said AFSOC has “made a lot of progress” toward improving the availability of the CV-22 Osprey, built by Bell Textron [TXT] and Boeing [BA].
“It’s never a slam dunk kind of thing, but I’m optimistic on the way forward with respect to the CV-22,” he said.
While Webb declined to specify the steps AFSOC has taken, he told reporters in September 2016 that much of his focus would be on the engine nacelle components, which accounted for about three-fifths of the tilt-rotor aircraft’s maintenance at the time (Defense Daily, Sept. 21, 2016).
Webb expressed confidence that software patches will fix glitches with the 30mm gun on the new AC-130J Ghostrider. Reports that the gun “cannot shoot straight” are “greatly exaggerated,” Webb said.
According to a recent report by the Pentagon’s chief weapons tester, the gun successfully engaged targets but “displayed problems maintaining a full rate of fire” when the aircraft underwent operational testing last year.
Built by Lockheed Martin [LMT], the AC-130J will replace the aging AC-130U/W gunships.