AC-130 laser test this year?

More than a year since news broke that Air Force Special Operations Command planned to install and test lasers on its AC-130 gunships, the plan now is to get its top unfunded requirement tested within a year. That’s what Lt. Gen. Brad Webb, head of AFSOC, told Breaking Defense. General Atomics and other companies have been spending their own research and development money on the capability. Webb said AFSOC, based at Hurlburt Field, Fla., hasn’t decided where the laser would go. The tests will help determine that, as well as which mix of weapons is most effective. His predecessor, Lt. Gen. Bradley Heithold, said the laser would probably go on the left side of the plane. (Source: Breaking Defense, 03/02/17)