With the conclusion of hostilities in Southeast Asia in the mid-1970s, the AC-130H became the sole gunship in the regular Air Force, home based at Hurlburt Field, Florida, while the AC-130A fleet was transferred to the Air Force Reserve's 919th Tactical Airlift Group (919 TAG) at Eglin AFB Auxiliary Field #3/Duke Field, Florida.

The AC-130U "Spooky" gunship is the primary weapon of Air Force Special Operations Command. Its primary missions are close air support, air interdiction and armed reconnaissance. The U model is an upgraded version of the H and is equipped with side firing, trainable 25 mm, 40 mm, and 105 mm guns.

An AC-130J Ghostrider gunship, assigned to the 27th Special Operations Group Detachment 2, taxis on the flight line July 19, 2021, at Cannon Air Force Base, N.M.

A gunship is a military aircraft armed with heavy aircraft guns, primarily intended for attacking ground targets either as airstrike or as close air support. [1] In modern usage the term "gunship" refers to fixed-wing aircraft having laterally-mounted heavy armaments (i.e. firing to the side) to attack ground or sea targets.

Nov 8, 2012 · The Lockheed AC-130 gunship is a heavily-armed ground-attack aircraft variant of the C-130 Hercules transport plane. The basic airframe is manufactured by Lockheed, while Boeing is...

Info on the AC-130H and AC-130U gunships operated by USAF Special Operations Squadrons. Read info, specs and view photos.

AC-130s suppressed enemy air defense systems and attacked ground forces during Operation Urgent Fury in Grenada. This enabled the successful assault of Point Saline’s airfield via airdrop and air land of friendly forces.

The AC-130 gunship has a combat history dating to Vietnam. Gunships destroyed more than 10,000 trucks and were credited with many life-saving close air support missions.

AC-130W gunships have since been employed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Inherent Resolve. (Current as of March 2021) The AC-130W Stinger II primary missions are close air support and air interdiction.

Dec 22, 2017 · As of Sept. 19, 2017, the AC-130J Ghostrider, the Air Force’s next-generation gunship achieved Initial Operating Capability and will be tested and prepared for combat deployment in the next few years. The AC-130J is the fourth generation gunship replacing the aging fleet of AC-130U/W gunships.