U.S. Marine Corps chief eyes AC-130 gunships, by Jim Wolf
Brooke Rowe
(EXCERPT) WASHINGTON, Nov 8 (Reuters) - Marine Corps Commandant Gen.
James Jones said Thursday that the U.S.-led campaign in Afghanistan
had sparked his interest in buying heavily armed AC-130 gunships.
``Frankly, I'm kicking myself that I waited so long'' to seek the
AC-130, he told a defense writers' breakfast.
The AC-130, manufactured jointly by Lockheed Martin Corp. (NYSE:LMT -
news) and Boeing Co. (NYSE:BA - news), is designed for close air
support, air interdiction and force protection.
At the same time, Jones made clear that Edward Aldridge, the
Pentagon's chief weapons buyer, still harbored doubts about the Marine
Corps' crash-plagued V-22 ``Osprey'' airplane-helicopter hybrid for
carrying troops.
``He wants to make sure that it is the right system and the most
affordable system for the price,'' Jones said.
The commandant -- a big believer in the craft's tilt-rotor technology
as a replacement for helicopters -- said he planned to get back to
Aldridge in coming weeks with comparative data designed to ``resolve
his lingering questions.''
He voiced optimism that Aldridge would be persuaded to go ahead with
the program once he saw the data being assembled.
Boeing and Textron Inc.'s (NYSE:TXT - news) Bell Helic...
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Brooke Rowe
Associate Librarian
The American War Library
http://www.americanwarlibrary.com