Jordan takes delivery of AC235 gunship

Jordan has taken delivery of an Airbus CN235 converted to the role of gunship. The aircraft has been modified to carry a side mounted 30mm cannon, four AGM-114M/K Hellfire missiles, as well as two pods for BAE Systems 70mm laser guided rockets. It was also modified to carry a suite of countermeasures for self defense.

The aircraft will use a synthetic aperture radar, as well as electrooptical/IR sensors and a laser rangefinder system for targeting. Full motion video can also be streamed using datalinks.

The Royal Jordanian Air Force has taken delivery of its first Airbus Defence & Space CN235 transport to have been adapted for a light gunship role.

The result of a collaboration between the nation’s King Abdullah II Design and Development Bureau and US contractor ATK Defense, the modified AC235 is being exhibited at the 6-8 May SOFEX exhibition in Amman.

www.flightglobal.com...

a reply to: Zaphod58

Wow ... talk about tech transfer.

I will say that the Jordanians treated my son well while he was there. He did mention some of the locals didn't care a lot for Americans. Let's hope we never have to fight that thing.

a reply to: Snarl

We were just talking about that. The current Jordanian gov't is one of the few that I'd consider moderate, and a good ally of the US in the region.

Thatll sure be able to blow away a lot of human beings out in the desert terrain id think.......they should stand out like a sore thumb on those systems....maybe the Jordanians are getting ready to help out the FSA....

Wow thats a no messing about gunship, god damn.

What the hell are they going to shoot with that? Bloody evil griffens from hells gate? #. Thats quite a serious assortment and more than the already quite ludicrous AC 130 gun ship.

There were more countries that were friends with the US but because of US policies the times they are a changing a reply to: Zaphod58

A sharia based monarchy able to strike Israel with ease. What could possibly go wrong? US corporations should be allowed to sell them some nukes as well.

a reply to: Deny Arrogance

Jordan and Israel have some of the best relations in the region. Jordan has benefited greatly from the 1994 treaty. Israel has opened routes for Jordan to send goods to Israel and Turkey by truck, and they just signed a 15 year agreement where Israel will send $500M worth of gas to Jordan from natural gas fields in the Med.

originally posted by: Biigs
Wow thats a no messing about gunship, god damn.

What the hell are they going to shoot with that? Bloody evil griffens from hells gate? #. Thats quite a serious assortment and more than the already quite ludicrous AC 130 gun ship.

Really you think this is better armed than an AC130? Not even in the same ball park 25MM gatling cannon, 40MM Bfors gun and 105mm howitzer is a whole lot more firepower than that baby gunship.

a reply to: Zaphod58

When they say four hellfire missiles, they mean four seperate hellfire launchers, right?

Not just four missiles...

a reply to: AlphaHawk

Nope just 2 dual Missle racks for the hellfires, so 4 missile total.

a reply to: AlphaHawk

Four missiles, two per side, with a 70mm rocket pod outside of the Hellfire positions.

It's a cheaper AC-130, it can't carry the massive weapons load that the -130s do.

a reply to: BigDave-AR

It's not even close, but it's perfect for what it is. An on the cheap gunship. It's like the Boeing MSA that they're developing. It's a Challenger 605 airframe, with surveillance gear to monitor the ocean. It's 1/3rd the cost of a P-8A Poseidon, but doesn't do all the missions. It simply can't. But it's perfect for smaller nations that don't have the money for a Poseidon.

Oh I'm not knocking it at all I was just surprised at the other user's comments that's all. This definitely will be a useful workhorse for countries with smaller military footprints.

a reply to: BigDave-AR

Oh absolutely. And when the MC-27J comes to life, that will add another interesting asset to smaller military nations. I wouldn't want to be on the crew of one of those dropping PGMs out the cargo door though. That would have to suck.

originally posted by: Deny Arrogance
A sharia based monarchy able to strike Israel with ease. What could possibly go wrong? US corporations should be allowed to sell them some nukes as well.

Jordan doesn't have a "sharia based" legal system. It's actually one of the few in the region that is anything like what we are used to in the West, being based in part on French and British law, as well influences from the Ottoman Empire. So don't get your panties all knotted.

As for the OP, that's a mean looking piece of kit - I wouldn't mind the UK getting hold of aircraft like that. I did think prior to reading the article, that when you mentioned Airbus in the OP, of some huge airliner converted to rain death - now that would be sweet, if unwieldy...

a reply to: stumason

At one point in time, some utterly insane individual actually sat down and came up with the AC-5. They talked about many variants of the C-5, including an ICBM launch platform, a bomb truck, a tanker and a couple of others.

originally posted by: Zaphod58
a reply to: BigDave-AR

Oh absolutely. And when the MC-27J comes to life, that will add another interesting asset to smaller military nations. I wouldn't want to be on the crew of one of those dropping PGMs out the cargo door though. That would have to suck.

Zaph in the Vietnam era you recall we had an aircraft called the "Provider" . Fairchild C-123K. Do you know if they ever tried a weapons variant? It would have been the same concept. Smaller, cheaper , less capable but still a workhorse.

a reply to: howmuch4another

It was called the NC-123K under the Black Spot program. Two aircraft were modified to carry CBU bomblets. It was incredibly successful, and flew in Vietnam. It worked better than they expected it to, but after the end of the program both aircraft were converted back to the C-123K standard and the gunship mission went to the AC-47 instead.

The AC-47 and AC-130 were the two most successful programs in the gunship program, but there were a total of four gunship programs that were tried. The AC-47, the AC-130, the AC-119G/K, and the NC-123K.

All you want to know about the AC programs

a reply to: Zaphod58

you da man! great link thanks