Chapter 1318 - 1323: One Condition
The Asad military base is certainly heavily guarded. Trying to drive away a plane from there, especially an AC-130 gunship, is obviously not feasible.
Planes and cars are different. Stealing a car means you can basically drive away immediately because cars definitely have gas.
But planes are different; their fuel tanks aren’t always filled. Most crucially, the AC-130 is nicknamed the gunship. Why is it called a gunship? Because this type of aircraft was originally a transport plane, but was ingeniously modified by the United States into an aerial fire support plane that can unleash gunfire onto the ground in scenarios of absolute air superiority.
The specific model of gunship stationed at the Asad air base is the AC-130U. The AC-130U is armed not only with machine guns but with a 105mm cannon!
A 105mm cannon has immense power, and firing from the air is fundamentally different from firing from the ground. For instance, when fired from the ground, it is an indirect fire weapon, so hitting the target directly is incredibly difficult. Lethality primarily comes from the blast shockwave and fragmentation.
But placing a cannon on a plane changes everything. First, the cannon can fire with direct line-of-sight, making a significant difference in target accuracy without dramatically increasing power.
The AC-130U also has a Bofors 40mm rapid-fire cannon, powerful enough to penetrate the top armor of a main battle tank. When loaded with high-explosive shells, it can devastate personnel over an area the size of half a basketball court.
Additionally, it is equipped with a GAU-12 25mm machine gun.
The three cannons are not the key; the advanced electronic equipment on the AC-130U is remarkable.
The power of the cannons is similar, so why is it formidable on the AC-130? That’s because the plane is equipped with power enhancers.