US Air Force Special Operations Command's test firing of Boeing AGM-114 Hellfire missiles from a Rockwell AC-130U Spectre gunship will not be performed until September or October because of a funding shortfall.
The test was planned for late last year. The USAF says Special Operations Command did not deliver the finance. The purpose of the trial is to give the AC-130 a hard target kill capability.
The AC-130U has three side-firing weapons - a 105mm (4in) howitzer, a 40mm Bofors cannon, and a 25mm six-barrel Gatling gun. A two-missile outboard wing pylon is to be installed for the test.
Source: Flight International