Russia's Military Want Their Own AC-130 Gunship

A Russian Air Force An-12BK cargo plane. Igor Dvurekov via Wikimedia

Warzone/The Drive: Russia Reportedly Developing Its Own AC-130-Like Gunship From Converted An-12 Cargo Planes

The project will start with converting a single Antonov An-12 to carry a pair of 57mm cannons to help with further development of the final design.

Russia is reportedly looking to develop an AC-130-like gunship armed with a pair of 57mm automatic cannons, as well as additional smaller guns. The first phase of the project would involve the conversion of an Antonov An-12 Cub cargo plane into a flying testbed to experiment with different weapons and tactics, techniques, and procedures.

State-owned media outlet TASS reported the new development on June 26, 2019, citing an anonymous source within Russia's state-run military-industrial complex. This individual disclosed the new information on the sidelines of the Army-2019 international military and technical forum, which had opened the day before. This annual event offers, among other things, an opportunity for Russian defense contractors and the Russian military to show off new and improved aircraft, vehicles, weapons, and other military hardware, as well as systems still in development.

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Update: Source: analogue of the American flying AC-130 battery being developed in Russia (TASS)

WNU Editor: The Russian military preferred developing and deploying helicopter gunships instead of a plane like the American AC-130 Gunship. Why the shift in planning? I think the Russian military is learning from the Syrian war, and I suspect that they faced a number of situations where such a gunship would have made a difference in a battle.Hence the decision to develop and build them.