--- title: "4 support aircraft you didn’t know had killer combat variants" description: "Troops under heavy fire sometimes find help from surprising sources, like these badass support aircraft combat variants. Read more on WATM." date: "2021-04-30" modified: "2021-04-30" authors: - name: "Logan Nye" job_title: "Senior Contributor, Army Veteran" link: "https://www.wearethemighty.com/authors/logan-nye/" url: "https://www.wearethemighty.com/lists/4-support-aircraft-variants/" categories: - "Air Force" - "Aircraft" - "History" - "Tactical" --- # 4 support aircraft you didn’t know had killer combat variants ![]() Troops under heavy fire often look to the skies for rescue, praying for an something like an Apache or A-10 to materialize and destroy the enemy. But sometimes help comes in less expected and more unusual forms: --- ### 1. MH-60 Direct Action Penetrator https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2OwzZV\_5qsA The humble Blackhawk helicopter is a great utility aircraft, but the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment looked at it and thought, "Could use more guns." They fly a modified Blackhawk, the MH-60 Direct Action Penetrator. Instead of carrying troops, it carries a Light Armament Support Structure to which weapons can be mounted. Weapons used on the DAP include miniguns, 30mm chain guns, rocket pods, Hellfire missile launchers, air-to-air Stinger missiles, and a three-barrelled .50-cal gatling gun. ### 2. Guns A-Go-Go, the Chinook attack helicopter https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WttpWwcSjy4 The Chinook is a beloved aircraft, but it's the manatee of Army aviation and is only thought of as threatening because it can carry dozens of combat-equipped troops. In the 1960s though, four of them were modified into attack helicopters. Re-designated as ACH-47As, each bird had a 40mm grenade launcher in a turret, two 20mm cannons, a spot for either a 2.75-inch rocket launcher or 7.62mm rotary minigun, as well as five crew stations that were usually outfitted with .50-cal. machine guns. All four were eventually sent to Vietnam where they got the nickname, "Guns A-Go-Go." One was lost in a runway accident, one experienced a mechanical failure and crashed, and one was shot down during the Tet Offensive. Since the helicopters worked in pairs, the survivor was sent back to America as a training tool for maintainers. It has since been restored and is on display at Redstone Arsenal. ### 3. V-22, but with missiles ![]() *Photo: Bell Helicopter* America's first tilt-rotor serves in raids, medical evacuation, troop transport and supply missions, but in its heart it wants to kill things directly. That's why Bell Boeing has tested [V-22s with rockets and missiles]() at Yuma Proving Grounds, Arizona, though they haven't gotten any purchase orders yet. ### 4. KC-130J Harvest Hawk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ie2Jc-o4Vrg Most people know about the AC-130 gunship, but there is actually another C-130 variant that can rain down death and destruction. The [KC-130J Harvest Hawk]() can carry four Hellfire and 10 Griffin missiles which it fires using the same sight sensor that is on the AH-1z Cobra attack helicopter. ### NOW: Watch a C-130 pilots terrifying view of a combat landing ### OR: [This combat controller kept taking it to the enemy after he was shot in the chest ]() ## Author Logan was an Army journalist and paratrooper in the 82nd. Now, he's a freelance writer covering military history, culture, and technology. He has two upcoming podcasts and a Twitch channel focused on basic military literacy. ### Author social links [Twitter]() [Facebook]()