The report also dinged the Ghostrider for its software complexity, inadequate training and technical manuals, and overall operating environment, which it said diminishes the aircraft’s usability. The Marine Corps round is designed for anti-personnel and light targets, Hughes said. The report said it “demonstrated limited effectiveness against personnel in the open on soft ground, but is more effective against personnel on hard surfaces.”Ī 30mm strike against a manikin on a concrete roof was deadlier and created more fragmentation damage than a strike on a plywood roof, because the round traveled through the plywood and detonated underneath, the report stated.ĪFSOC said the Ghostrider’s 30mm PGU-46/B round meets its performance requirements, and its effectiveness is not an issue. Live-fire tests of the Ghostrider showed the 105mm “demonstrated expected lethality against personnel, trucks and light armored vehicles.” Its Griffin missiles took out stationary and moving trucks and small boats.īut its 30mm round had mixed success. The Pentagon report concluded that despite those “notable shortfalls,” the Ghostrider’s Block 20 configuration - which also includes wing-mounted GBU-39 Small Diameter Bombs and AGM-176 Griffin laser-guided missiles - can support most elements of the close-air support and air interdiction missions. James Knight, left, an aerial gunner with the 18th Flight Test Squadron, performs a pre-flight inspection at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, July 29, 2015.
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