Russian experts are working on the development of an aircraft that attacks ground or sea targets, TASS news agency reports.
The new aircraft will be an alternative to the US’s Lockheed AC-130 gunship, a fixed-wing aircraft with laterally-mounted heavy armaments to attack ground targets. Such planes were used by the US Army during the Vietnam War. The gunship allows for using large-caliber guns, thus replacing one-seat fighters fitted with 30-mm guns and missiles.
The Russian aircraft will be based on the Antonov An-12 Cub, a Soviet turboprop transport aircraft, which will be fitted with two 57-mm guns. These guns have a long history: they were mounted on the legendary T-23 tanks during the Great Patriotic War and pierced the armor of the German Tiger and Panther tanks.