Washington – The US Air Force successfully tested a cruise missile drop from a C-130J cargo plane. The test was carried out in the Gulf of Mexico. This is the fifth such test under the US Air Force’s Rapid Dragon mission. Military experts suggest that hundreds of US Air Force cargo aircraft could be used for strategically important missions, as well as attacks, during a war. This is an important development for the US Air Force.
For the past two years, the US Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) has been working on a ‘Palletized Weapon System’ that can be launched or dropped off a cargo aircraft. Moves are underway to build necessary systems for launching the cruise missile from the box on the desired target. The US Air Force had not conducted a live-fire test before. Last month, a long-range cruise missile was tested. But this missile did not carry explosives.
But in a test last week, the US Air Force conducted a live-fire test from a C-130J Commando II aircraft used for a special military unit. According to AFRL, the missile hit the target with precision. The AFRL clarified that this test would increase the capability of the US Air Force. The cargo aircraft, which has been in the service of the US Air Force for the past several years, could be used for strategic missions, AFRL indicated.
Following the successful test of the C-130J aircraft, the US Air Force will also test cruise missiles from the C-17 Globemaster cargo plane. AFRL said that this would be carried out next year using live fire. It is unknown at this time whether the other cargo planes will be tested for this purpose. But US military analysts are claiming that the US Air Force is preparing its cargo planes for future major wars.
The US Air Force has more than 800 cargo planes. These include more than 400 C-130J class aircraft and 223 C-17 Globemaster aircraft. Therefore, it seems that the US Air Force may equip at least the cargo aircraft squadrons with a large number of cruise missiles in the coming days.
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