AC-130 Spooky

[Plane]

http://worldwarwings.com/ac-130u-spooky-firing-guns-massive-firepower?a=GD&var=a10-Ac130Livefire

  There is a difference between Spooky and Specter, but on the target it would be hard to tell. 

[Christians4LessGvt]

AC-130 is/will be death for many Islamo-Nazis!

[Xavier_Onassis]

Sounds like a very fuel inefficient way to shoot people.
But I suspect the fighter jets use even more fuel.

[sirs]

THIS is what you use to take out a known terrorist camp/compound

[Xavier_Onassis]

I would think that the A-10 or whatever they replaced it with would also be efficient at this.
Certainly either plane would be more effective than the rail gun             .

[sirs]

An A-10, and any other fighter jet, can't loiter over a target like the AC 130 can.  That alone makes it superior to any fighter jet, in taking out a terroist complex

[Plane]

  For all its firepower the ac-130 is useless if there is an enemy fighter in the neighborhood.

   Gotta have air superiority , to use air superiority.

[Xavier_Onassis]

I would think a helicopter would be best at loitering over any target.
Hovering is better than loitering.

[sirs]

It would...BUT....it doesn't have near the firepower of the AC-130.  It also has to be much closer to the ground, and at risk for enemy gun fire and shoulder fired RPG's.  So, if we were to RANK those air assets that would be best at taking out a terrorist stronghold, and as Plane referenced, we have complete air superiority, so as the AC doesn't have to defend itself from any enemy fighters

1) one AC 130
2) several Apache helicopters
3) 4-5 A-10 Warthogs
4) a spread of Tomahawk missles
5) Laser guided ordinance from 4-5 F-15 Strike Eagles or F-16 Falcons

(the last would be the best choice, if we didn't have air superiority, since they can defend themselves quite well, from other jet fighters)

[Plane]

Yes

It is part of the team.

Nothing is good for all purposes.

Very often the easy and cheap means is to use an excess of firepower , catching the important target , the unimportant targets and the innocent and the undesired target all together.

Having a lot of tools in the tool box makes it more likely that something that is just enough will be available.

About loiter time ,it ties into range.

The A-10 and the C-130 both have very long range and long loiter times , this is good for moving attractive targets of our own past an enemy that needs to keep his head down in the presence of dangerous aircraft.