Aerospace

US Special Operations arms surveillance aircraft for precision attack

U.S. Special Operations Command is arming small, maneuverable surveillance planes to offer war commanders a precision-strike option supporting ground troops in rugged terrain with Hellfire missiles and laser-guided rockets.

If overhead fire support is able to identify and attack pockets of enemy fighters, fewer ground troops have to enter into enemy fire. Also, an overhead asset of this kind can be an intelligence node able to send targeting information and data regarding troop movements. When it comes to actual close-in counterinsurgency combat, fighters often obscure themselves in defilade or in buildings, requiring a need for precision strikes. Air to ground precision weapons can use a laser rangefinder and other kinds of advanced technologies.

One plane now operating is MAG Aerospace’s MC-208 Armed Caravan, a converted surveillance aircraft already in service with SOCOM and another in production for a U.S. allied international force. The Aircraft consists of a Textron-built airframe and MAG-integrated sensors, communications, avionics and weapons systems.