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AC-130 Gunship Related News »

• US Airstrike in Somalia Targets al-Qaida Suspect
• Boeing Starts AC-130U Gunship Flight Testing
• Spooky gunship armed with new cannons
• U.S. Launches New Airstrike in Somalia
• Aircraft attack al Qaeda haven in Somalia

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:

Mar. 3rd, 2008 | US Airstrike in Somalia Targets al-Qaida Suspect

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. Eyewitness Abdi Mohamed Ali tells VOA that the residents of Dobley, about six kilometers from the Kenyan border, were shaken from their beds early Monday by a huge explosion that flattened a house in the middle of ...
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Apr. 28th, 2007 | Boeing Starts AC-130U Gunship Flight Testing

ST. LOUIS, April 27, 2007 -- The Boeing Company [NYSE: BA] has begun flight testing the AC-130U Gunship with new 30 mm cannons at Hurlburt Field, Fla. Boeing is modifying four gunships for the U.S. Air Force Special Operations Command by installing and testing the cannons so existing airplanes have increased combat effectiveness. The AC-130U features increased weapon stand-off range, improved first-shot accuracy, and a suite of electronic and infrared countermeasures that greatly enhance its...
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Feb. 2nd, 2007 | Spooky gunship armed with new cannons

HURLBURT FIELD, Fla. (AFNEWS) -- Spooky is about to get a little scarier. Crews at Hurlburt Field have put the finishing touches on the first AC-130U Spooky gunship armed with the 30 mm Bushmaster cannon. The rearmed Spooky retains its 105 mm cannon but replaces the 25 mm and 40 mm guns with Bushmasters. The project is a "win-win," according to Air Force Special Operations Command officials -- unless you're one of the bad guys. "We're buying increased lethality and accuracy at the sa...
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Jan. 24th, 2007 | U.S. Launches New Airstrike in Somalia

WASHINGTON -- The United States launched an airstrike in Somalia against suspected terrorist targets - the second such attack this month, defense officials said Wednesday. The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the action was carried out in secret, provided few details about the strike by an Air Force AC-130 gunship earlier this week and were uncertain whether the intended target was killed. One official suggested that early indications showed that no high-value target ...
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Jan. 9th, 2007 | Aircraft attack al Qaeda haven in Somalia

WASHINGTON (AFNEWS) -- Air Force AC-130 gunships struck al Qaeda targets in Somalia Jan. 8, news sources reported last night. The operation allegedly hit al Qaeda concentrations in the southern part of the country, but Pentagon officials did not comment. The Navy 5th Fleet moved the aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower into the waters off Somalia in an effort to capture al Qaeda terrorists attempting to flee the country, a 5th Fleet spokesman said. Officials of the United Natio...
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