Crew Of Gunship 'Spooky 41' Are All Awarded Medals For Actions In Afghanistan

Fourteen Air Commandos with the 4th Special Operations Squadron were presented two Distinguished Flying Crosses and 12 Air Medals by Lt. Gen. Jim Slife, commander of Air Force Special Operations Command, at Hurlburt Field, Florida

Daily Mail: Crew of gunship 'Spooky 41' are all awarded medals after raining fire on ISIS militants for NINE hours to allow rescue of 15 wounded soldiers in Afghanistan battle likened to Iwo Jima

* Aircrew of the AC-130U gunship 'Spooky 41' with Hurlburt Field's 4th Special Operations Squadron were honored at the military facility in Fort Walton Beach
* The 14-man crew received two Distinguished Flying Crosses and 12 Air Medals for for providing nine hours of fire support
* Crew helped U.S. and coalition forces during April 2019 mission in Afghanistan
* While allied forces battled ISIS on the ground, the crew of Spooky 41 helped to ensure the safe evacuation by helicopter of 15 injured ground personnel
* DFCs are awarded for 'Heroism or extraordinary achievement while participating in an aerial flight'

The crew of a U.S. gunship have been awarded bravery medals at a ceremony in Florida after they rained fire down on Islamic State militants for hours, as allied soldiers on the ground were whisked to safety.

Forces on the ground came under heavy fire from ISIS militants in Nangarhar province, Afghanistan on April 3, 2019, in a ferocious fight which one Major on the ground likened to infamous WW2 battle Iwo Jima.

They called for backup from 'Spooky 41' - a AC-13OU gunship, and the Hercules-variant plane arrived within minutes to provide covering fire and ensure medical helicopters could safely evacuate the injured.

The crew were up in the air for nine hours and managed to suppress enemy fire during the evacuation of 15 wounded soldiers.

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WNU Editor: This is the first time I am reading a story on the entire crew aboard a gunship being awarded medals.

The Air Force's New AC-130J Ghostrider Gunship Is Seeing A Lot Of Action In Afghanistan

An AC-130J Ghostrider gunship assigned to the 73rd Special Operations Squadron takes off from Hurlburt Field in Florida, September 26, 2019. US Air Force/Airman 1st Class Joseph P. Leveille

Business Insider: The Air Force's new AC-130J Ghostrider gunship is working overtime in Afghanistan

* The Air Force's new AC-130J has been operating over Afghanistan for a little more than four months.
* In that time, the Ghostrider has been busy, and US forces on the ground can't get enough of it.

It's been just over four months since the Air Force's AC-130J Ghostrider kicked off combat missions in the skies above Afghanistan, and the aircraft that the service once described as "the ultimate battle plane" and "a bomb truck with guns on it" is already bringing the pain on a daily basis.

Speaking to Stars & Stripes, Combined Joint Special Operations Air Component–Afghanistan commander Col. Terence Taylor revealed that the Ghostrider has flown a total of 218 sorties amounting to 1,380 hours over roughly 130 days, which shakes out to an average of five sorties every three days since the aircraft first arrived downrange in late June.

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WNU Editor: More evidence on how much the Afghan war has intensified in the past year.

The U.S. Air Force’s Famous AC-130U “Spooky” Gunship Has Been Retired

Popular Mechanics: The Air Force's “Spooky” Gunships Have Flown Overseas for the Last Time

The flying arsenal is being replaced by the new AC-130J Ghostrider.

The Air Force’s famous AC-130U “Spooky” gunship is on the verge of retirement with the heavily armed cargo plane returning on Monday from its last scheduled overseas mission. The Spooky is being replaced with a newer gunship, the AC-130J Ghostrider, which boasts greater precision firepower, as well as the new ability to carry laser-guided missiles and bombs.

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WNU Editor: The new AC-130J Ghostrider will be more precise and will be able to carry laser-guided missiles and bombs.

U.S. Air Force Gets Its First Upgraded AC-130J Ghostrider Block 30 Gunship

U.S. Air Force MC-130J Command IIs assigned to the 17th Special Operations Squadron fly in formation Feb. 17, 2016, off the coast of Okinawa, Japan. The 17th SOS conducted a unit-wide training exercise which tasked the entire squadron with a quick-reaction, full-force sortie involving a five-ship formation flight, cargo drops, short runway landings and takeoffs, and helicopter air-to-air refueling. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Peter Reft/Released)

Task & Purpose/Military.com: Air Force gets first upgraded 'Ghostrider' gunship

The Air Force has received an upgraded version of its Ghostrider gunship.

The 4th Special Operations Squadron, 1st Special Operations Wing, at Hurlburt Field, Florida, received its first AC-130J Ghostrider Block 30 gunship this week during a ceremony at Bob Sikes Airport in Crestview, Florida, Air Force Special Operations Command said in a news release Thursday.

The 4th Special Operations Squadron currently operates and maintains the AC-130U Spooky.

The Block 30 model marks "a major improvement in software and avionics technology" over the original Block 20 software AC-130J, the release states.

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WNU Editor: Here is an easy prediction. This gunship is going to be used a lot in present and future wars.

Watch The AC-130 Gunship In Action

Popular Mechanics: Watch a AC-130 Gunship Devastate Targets on the Ground with Its Howitzer

The 105mm howitzer is by far the largest gun on any combat aircraft today.

The largest gun attached to any warplane in the world belongs to the new AC-130W Stinger II flying gunship. Its M102 howitzer can fire 105mm high-explosive shells at targets on the ground at a rate of up to ten rounds per minute. Here it is in action:

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According To U.S. Special Operations, America's Fleet Of AC-130 Gunships Will Be The 'Most Requested' Aircraft Over The Battlefield

The Air Force's latest AC-130J Ghostrider gunship sits on the flightline at Hurlburt Field, Fla. (Oriana Pawlyk/Military.com)

DoD Buzz: Special Operators Predict AC-130J Will Be 'Most Requested' Aircraft

HURLBURT FIELD, Fla. -- "That's the sound America makes when she's angry."

That's how Col. Tom Palenske, commander of the 1st Special Operations Wing, characterized the AC-130 gunship after two aircraft fired hundreds of rounds from their 40mm and 105mm cannons and 25mm Gatling gun in the skies above A-77, a range specially made for target practice.

Palenske, also the installation commander here, says crews can't wait for the next best thing: the AC-130J Ghostrider.

"It's going to be awesome. It's our big gun truck. It's going to have more powerful engines, a more efficient fuel rate, and also has a more precise fuel capability so you know exactly how much gas you've got on board," he said.

Palenske caught up with Military.com during a tour of Air Force Special Operations Command aircraft and a live-fire training exercise on ranges used by Hurlburt and neighboring Eglin Air Force Base as part of Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson’s recent trip to AFSOC.

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Update #1: Air Force On The New AC-130 Gunship: ‘That’s The Sound America Makes When She’s Angry’ (Task & Purpose)
Update #2: This airborne weapon makes the A-10's gun look like a cute little pop gun (We Are The Mighty)

WNU Editor: These gunships are a high profile target for U.S. adversaries .... Air Force gunships in Syria are being jammed by 'adversaries' rendering them blind and unable to help under-siege troops, special ops general says (Daily Mail).

The U.S. Airforce's Newest AC-130J Gunships Have A Problem With Their 30mm And 105mm Guns

AC-130J Ghostrider US Air Force

Warzone/The Drive: The USAF Still Can't Get The New AC-130J Ghostrider's 30mm Cannon To Work Reliably

A new Pentagon report says that gun routinely fails and that the plane's basic design also causes the 105mm shells on board to fall apart.

The U.S. Air Force says the first of its newest AC-130J Ghostrider gunships are ready for combat, just as soon as they can train enough crews to fly them. A new report from Pentagon’s top testing office says that while that assessment might be technically true, the aircraft’s 30mm and 105mm guns continue to suffer from poor accuracy, unreliable ammunition, and other significant issues.

Earlier in January 2018, the Pentagon’s Office of the Director of Operational Test and Evaluation, which oversees that work across the services, released its latest report, covering various testing activities during the 2017 fiscal year. This routine review touches on the progress of dozens of different weapons programs, including the AC-130J, highlighting both successes and failures.

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Update: The Air Force’s ‘Ultimate Battle Plane’ Has A Major Gun Problem (Task & Purpose)

WNU Editor: The US Air Force wants to buy 37 of these gunships.

A Look At The U.S. Air Force's Newest Gunship

DoD Buzz: Air Force’s Newest Gunship, AC-130J Ghostrider, Is Almost Ready for Combat

NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. — The U.S. Air Force plans to declare its newest gunship, the AC-130J Ghostrider, ready for combat — or initial operating capability (IOC) in acquisition parlance — this month, but the aircraft won’t actually deploy to a war zone for a couple more years, a general said.

“We are declaring IOC, Initial Operating Capability, this month on the AC-J,” Lt. Gen. Marshall “Brad” Webb, head of Air Force Special Operations Command, said Tuesday during a briefing with reporters at the Air Force Association’s annual conference outside Washington, D.C.

However, the general added, “That doesn’t mean anything with respect to putting it in combat — we’re still just shy of two years away from wanting to put those in combat.”

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WNU Editor:  There is a lot of fire-power on that gunship.

C-130 Getting A Massive Technological Overhaul

Scout Warrior: Air Force Massive Upgrade of the War-C-130

The Air Force is progressing with a massive technological overhaul of its warzone-tested C-130 aircraft, giving the platform new radios, digital avionics, collision avoidance technology and reinforced "wing-boxes."

C-130 Modernization

The Air Force is progressing with a massive technological overhaul of its warzone-tested C-130 aircraft, giving the platform new radios, digital avionics, collision avoidance technology and reinforced "wing-boxes," service officials said.
The Air Force remains vigilant about its C-130 fleet to ensure the airframes, wingboxes, avionics and communication systems remain safe and operational well into the 2030s and beyond. This is particularly true of the older 1980s-era C-130Hs, Air Force developers explained.

“The thing that causes the greatest risk to the airplane is the life of the wing. We monitor the wing of the aircraft and as the wings get past their service, life we bring the airplanes back in and bring in new structures -- with the primary focus being the center wingbox which is the area where the wings mount to the fuselage,”Col. Robert Toth, Chief of Tactical Aircraft, Special Operations and Combat Search and Rescue Division, told Scout Warrior in an interview several months ago.

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WNU Editor: It is hard to imagine that they can make these gunships even more lethal than what they are ..... but apparently they can.

Testing The New And Powerful AC-130 Variants During Live Fire Exercise (Video)

From YouTube: Video showing several versions of the US AC-130 (the AC-130U Spooky ,AC-130W Stinger II ) in action during live fire exercise as part of the Emerald Warrior 2016 annual exercise in Hurlburt Field (Florida). In this videos the AC-130's shoot their GAU-12 Equalizer 25mm (for the AC-130U) cannons, 30 mm Bushmaster cannons (for the W version), Bofors 40 mm autocannons, 105 mm M102 cannon.

This video also show AH-64D in action shooting it's powerful M230 30mm cannon.

Lasers On AC-130 Gunships?

"AC-130U training" by Senior Airman Andy M. Kin, USAF

Washington Times: Air Force wants AC-130 gunships armed with laser weapons

Update: A New Approach To Airborne Laser Weapons? -- William Pentland, Forbes

WNU Editor: These gunships are already very lethal .... now lasers?!?!?!

Inside An AC-130 Gunship While It's Shooting The Big Gun

Future Weapons - AC-130U Spooky Gunship (Video)

Video: Inside An AC-130 While Shooting

Hat Tip: Theo Spark

Meet The 'Angel Of Death'

Hell in the sky: The AC-130 Hercules - aka 'Angel of Death' fires its deadly load

The 'Angel Of Death': Special Forces' Latest Weapon Is Biggest Flying Howitzer In The World -- The Daily Mail

This is the ‘Angel of Death’, the world’s biggest flying artillery gun – and the latest weapon being used by British and US Special Forces to defeat Taliban insurgents in Afghanistan.

Our exclusive picture shows the AC-130 Hercules aircraft unleashing its awesome firepower on the enemy 2,000ft below.

From a distance the plane – nicknamed the ‘Angel of Death’ because of the shape that its anti-missile flares take when they are fired – looks like a normal troop carrier.

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My Comment: This is what I call introducing firepower into a fight .... to the max.

New Gunship Could Get Fresh Start In 2010

Photo from FOX News

From Aviation Week:

FT. WALTON BEACH, Fla. – U.S. Special Operations Command is proposing to start a new gunship in the fiscal 2010 budget, but it remains to be seen whether the tight fiscal environment will support a new program, according to Pentagon officials.

Keith Sanders, deputy director of air warfare for the Pentagon acquisition chief, says the gunship will be a more flexible system than today’s AC-130H/U aircraft. One requirement likely to emerge is to operate the gunship safely in an urban environment such as Baghdad.

Sanders and others spoke here March 10 at the Precision Strike Association’s Annual Review conference. President Barack Obama’s defense budget for next fiscal year is expected to be detailed by next month.

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My Comment: They don't have the money for a new plane, but it would be interesting to see what they can design as an alternative to the AC-130.

The Evolution Of The AC-130 Gunship

AFSOC Would (Almost) Kill for New Gunships -- Defense Tech

If Lt. Gen. Donald Wurster, commander of Air Force Special Operations Command, could put his hands on one more dollar to spend he would buy a heavily armed version of the new Joint Cargo Aircraft. In fact, he wants them so badly that after spending that dollar, he’d “go down the table, stab the others in the back and take their dollars” for the program. Or at least that’s what he said during a roundtable of four-star generals at the annual Air Force Association conference.

The command, based at Hurlburt Field, Fla., needs a successor to the aging AC-130 gunship, and so it’s asking to redirect about $32 million from its current fiscal year budget to buy a prototype from JCA maker Alenia Aeronautica and its U.S. partner, L3 Communications.

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