The future of the AC-130 Gunship - Evolve or die

The AC-130 was one of the most heavily tasked aerial assets during the Global War on Terror. Its ability to loiter on station and deliver surgical, devastating fire on demand meant the AC-130 always had a role to play in Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria and elsewhere. But now, as the strategic focus moves away from counter-terror and counter-insurgency operations to potential peer-state conflicts, particularly one in the Pacific against China, where the enemy sits beneath a highly complex air defense umbrella far beyond the range of its guns, the AC-130 is at an existential crossroads. The AC-130 has to adapt to survive, both literally and budgetarily. Here is what that could look like.