Ghostrider

R&D has added massive firepower to this close-range air-to-ground support unit with the versatility to equip multiple types of ballistics, bombs, missiles and flares.

## Advanced Information

### Equipment

GAU-23 Autocannon
GBU-53 SDBII/AGM-176 Griffin
GAU-12 Equalizer 25mm Gatling Gun
GBU-44 Viper Strike
Advanced Countermeasures

## General Information

Arguable one of the most important Fixed-Wing units for mid and late game, Ghostrider completely outclasses the AC-130 Spooky in several aspects and can be used well into around level 70 or so while seeking for advanced alternatives like the V-44 Titanus. For 200 extra space, it offers far more.

The main weapon are GAU-23 Autocannon dealing ballistic damage and aiming at ground targets, centered around the building it is dispatched to. Being highly inaccurate, you'll have to aim at a particularly large one like Heavy Platforms or a cluster of smaller ones to abuse its splash damage. They can occasionally hit enemy ground units. Note: it will stop fired when the building you target it to is destroyed

Another weapon on the Ghostrider is the 105mm cannon (which can be seen near the tail of the aircraft) same as GAU-23 it is also highly inaccurate and aiming at ground targets, centered around the building it dispatched to

The SDBs will only serve useful at the beginning of its strafing run due to the extremely long reload time. However, they do compensate with a moderate splash area and high damage, capable of devastating turrets and most other buildings of relative level caught in the blast, with only army buildings barely standing. Since they will never cover the main target and can be automatically wasted on weak buildings like Metal Factories, the vehicle's point of entry must be considered. The Viper Strikes are more reliable, as despite their low damage, they reload quickly and only target turrets, in addition to sniping them from range, quickly destroying most standard platforms. The Griffin's lack of splash often makes it less desirable in general until later on in the game where you need to eliminate stronger turrets.

Defensively, the Ghostrider can use flares to counter missiles, and its equalizer gatling cannon is perfect for taking down lightly-protected enemy defenders such as drones, infantry and light vehicles. Ghostrider, however, has no defensive augments in terms of health and relies solely on promotion levels to acquire them, so it can't absorb damage as effectively compared to even other aircraft without sufficient yet costly upgrades. In some cases, instead of letting it support your army, you might have to actually destroy a couple of turrets with other units before sending it in.

The only major downsides of Ghostrider are its inability to participate in defense and the common issue of stat fall-off in the late game. Thankfully, both do not matter much, making this unit a good investment.

## Trivia

* Ghostrider is based on the AC-130J variant of the original AC-130 gunship.
* It is, so far, the only gunship that cannot be used by players for defense, likely due to the sheer power of its arsenal versus various units.
	+ NPC Ghostriders will never have any equipment.