Gunship
military aircraft type / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A gunship (not to be confused with a gunboat) is a military aircraft armed with heavy aircraft guns, primarily intended for attacking ground targets either as airstrike or as close air support.
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This article is about a kind of military aircraft. For small armed watercraft, see gunboat.
In modern usage the term "gunship" refers to fixed-wing aircraft having laterally-mounted heavy armaments (i.e. firing to the side) to attack ground or sea targets.[1][2] The term "gunship" originated in the mid-19th century as a synonym for gunboat and also referred to the heavily armed ironclad steamships used during the American Civil War.[3]
The term helicopter gunship is commonly used to describe armed helicopters.