Watch This Crazy Video (Live Fire) A Day in the Legendary AC130 Plane Is Such a Badass Plane

Watch This Crazy Video (Live Fire) A Day in the Legendary AC130 Plane Is Such a Badass Plane
(Video/Thumbnail Picture just For Ilustration)

The Lockheed AC-130 gunship is a heavily armed, long-endurance ground-attack variant of the C-130 Hercules transport fixed-wing aircraft. It carries a wide array of anti-ground oriented weapons that are integrated with sophisticated sensors, navigation, and fire-control systems. Unlike other military fixed-wing aircraft, the AC-130 relies on visual targeting. Because its large profile and low operating altitudes (around 7,000 ft) make it an easy target, it usually flies close air support missions at night.[5]

The airframe is manufactured by Lockheed Martin, while Boeing is responsible for the conversion into a gunship and for aircraft support.[6] Developed during the Vietnam War as 'Project Gunship II', the AC-130 replaced the Douglas AC-47 Spooky, or 'Gunship I'. The sole operator is the United States Air Force, which uses the AC-130U Spooky and AC-130W Stinger II[7] variants for close air support, air interdiction, and force protection, with the AC-130J Ghostrider in development. Close air support roles include supporting ground troops, escorting convoys, and urban operations. Air interdiction missions are conducted against planned targets and targets of opportunity. Force protection missions include defending air bases and other facilities. AC-130Us are based at Hurlburt Field, Florida, while AC-130Ws are based at Cannon AFB, New Mexico; gunships can be deployed worldwide.[8] The squadrons are part of the Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC), a component of the United States Special Operations Command (SOCOM).[9]

The AC-130 has an unpressurized cabin, with the weaponry mounted to fire from the port side of the fuselage. During an attack, the gunship performs a pylon turn, flying in a large circle around the target, therefore being able to fire at it for far longer than in a conventional strafing attack. The AC-130H Spectre was armed with two 20 mm M61 Vulcan cannons, one Bofors 40 mm cannon, and one 105 mm M102 howitzer; after 1994, the 20 mm cannons were removed. The upgraded AC-130U Spooky has a single 25 mm GAU-12 Equalizer cannon in place of the Spectre's two 20 mm cannons, an improved fire control system, and increased ammunition capacity.

The new AC-130J is based on the MC-130J Commando II special operations tanker as of 2012. The AC-130W is armed with one 30 mm Mk44 Bushmaster II cannon, AGM-176 Griffin missiles, and GBU-39 Small Diameter Bombs (SDBs).[10]

War on Terror
An AC-130U releasing flares

The U.S. has used gunships with deployments to the War in Afghanistan (Operation Enduring Freedom – Afghanistan) (2001–2014), and Iraq War (Operation Iraqi Freedom) (2003–11). AC-130 strikes were directed by special forces on known Taliban locations during the early days of the war in Afghanistan. U.S. Special Operations Forces are using the AC-130 to support its operations. The day after arriving in Afghanistan, the AC-130s attacked Taliban and Al-Qaeda forces near the city of Konduz and were directly responsible for the city's surrender the next day. On 26 November 2001, Spectres were called in to put down a rebellion at the prison fort of Qala-I-Janghi. The 16 SOS flew missions over Mazar-i-Sharif, Kunduz, Kandahar, Shkin, Asadabad, Bagram, Baghran, Tora Bora, and virtually every other part of Afghanistan. The Spectre participated in countless operations within Afghanistan, performing on-call close air support and armed reconnaissance. In March 2002, three AC-130 Spectres provided 39 crucial combat missions in support of Operation Anaconda in Afghanistan. During the intense fighting, the planes fired more than 1,300 40 mm and 1,200 105 mm rounds.

Close air support was the main mission of the AC-130 in Iraq. Night after night, at least one AC-130 was in the air to fulfill one or more air support requests (ASRs). A typical mission had the AC–130 supporting a single brigade’s ASRs followed by aerial refueling and another two hours with another brigade or SOF team. The use of AC-130s in places like Fallujah, urban settings where insurgents were among crowded populations of non-combatants, was criticized by human rights groups. AC-130s were also used for intelligence gathering with their sophisticated long-range video, infrared and radar sensors. In 2007, US Special Operations forces also used the AC-130 in attacks on suspected Al-Qaeda militants in Somalia.[61][62]

There were eight AC-130H and seventeen AC-130U aircraft in active-duty service as of July 2010.[9] In March 2011, the U.S. Air Force deployed two AC-130U gunships to take part in Operation Odyssey Dawn, the U.S. military intervention in Libya,[63] which eventually came under NATO as Operation Unified Protector.[64]
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