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Air Force

AFSOC’s Laser Gunship Demo Slowed By Budget Turmoil

By Marc Selinger

Friday, February 23rd, 2018

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AFSOC’s Laser Gunship Demo Slowed By Budget Turmoil

An AC-130J taxis the runway for its first official sortie Jan. 31, 2014, at Eglin AFB, Fla. Photo: Air Force.

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…

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