AC-130 Gunship

The AC-130H/U is a fixed-wing, side-firing aerial gunship that provides close air support, air interdiction and force protection. Close air support missions include troops in contact, convoy escort and urban operations.
Air interdiction missions are conducted against preplanned targets or targets of opportunity. Force protection missions include air base defense and facilities defense. Secondary missions include armed reconnaissance, forward air control, limited command and control, and combat search and rescue.

The AC-130H "Spectre" and AC-130U "Spooky II" are Hercules transports that have been converted into side-firing gunships, primarily for night attacks against ground targets.
The formidable AC-130 gunships have an impressive combat history, During the Vietnam war they destroyed more than 10,000 trucks and were credited with many life-saving close air support missions.
Following the end of the Vietnam War they saw action during the attempted rescue of the crew of the USS Mayaguez (1975), Operation Urgent Fury in Grenada (1983), Operation Just Cause in Panama (1989), Operation Desert Storm in Iraq (1991), Operation Restore Hope in Somalia (1993-1994), Operation Deliberate Force in Bosnia (1995). More recently they were deployed in Operation Enduring Freedom, in Afghanistan, and Operation Iraqi Freedom.

On 31 January 1991, the first AC-130H was lost in combat while supporting coalition forces engaged in ground combat during the battle of Khafji in Operation Desert Storm. A second aircraft supporting operations in Somalia was lost on 15 March 1994 when the 105mm cannon exploded while the aircraft was airborne.
The eight remaining AC-130H "Spectre" gunships are still flying with the 16th Special Operations Squadron (SOS), part of the 16th Special Operations Wing (SOW), at Hurlburt Field, Florida.

The AC-130U, commonly referred to as "U-Boat", is the most complex aircraft weapons system in the world today. It has more than 609,000 lines of software code in its mission computers and avionics systems.
The newest addition to the command fleet, it is the latest in a long line of heavily-armed, side-firing gunships and is named "Spooky II" in honor of the first gunship model, the AC-47D. All other AC-130s are referred to as "Spectre". The prototype AC-130U (#87-0128) made its first flight on 20 December 1990.

The "Spooky II" gunship program consists of 13 new Lockheed C-130H airframes modified by boeing with improved armament, advanced sensors, a Hughes APG-180 fire control radar system, GPS, the ALQ-172 Electronic Countermeasure System, an ALR-56M radar warning receiver, an APR-46A panoramic receiver, and an AAR-44 infrared warning receiver integrated with a series of ALE-40 chaff & flare dispensers.
The modifications allow the aircraft to perform the full range of special operations and conventional gunship missions, at night and in adverse weather.
These aircraft also have the capability to loiter for long periods over targets, while providing precision fire support.

A multi-mode strike radar provides extreme long-range target detection and identification. It is able to track 40mm and 105mm projectiles and return pinpoint impact locations to the crew for subsequent adjustment to the target.
The fire control system offers a Dual Target Attack capability, whereby two targets up to one kilometer apart can be simultaneously engaged by two different sensors, using two different guns.
No other air-ground attack platform in the world offers this capability.
The side-firing weapons array consists of one 25mm GAU-12 Gatling gun (firing 1,800 rounds per minute), one 40mm L60 Bofors cannon (with a selectable firing rate of single shot or 120 rounds per minute) and one 105mm M-102 Howitzer cannon (firing 6 to 10 rounds per minute).
The M102 105mm Cannon was derived from the Army field artillery M1A1 howitzer and was modified to be fired from the left rear side door of the AC-130 gunship aircraft.

Recent developments (news)

Robins unit answers urgent call for AC-130 Gunship repair

Aug 18 - ROBINS AIR FORCE BASE, Ga. -- A Robins unit recently developed a prototype infrared suppression system for the AC-130 gunship. The 402nd Commodities Maintenance Group had an urgent requirement for the IRSS. Working from  …

US Airstrike in Somalia Targets al-Qaida Suspect

Mar 03 - In Somalia, several dozen residents of Dobley town, near the Kenyan border, are reportedly trying to cross into Kenya following a U.S. military air strike that was aimed at terror suspects in the area. VOA Correspondent Alisha Ryu has details from our East Africa Bureau in Nairobi.

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