The AC-130J Ghostrider is a heavily armed, long range gunship variant of the C-130 Hercules cargo transport aircraft. Used by the United States Air Force, the AC-130J and it’s various predecessors have seen success from 1968 with the AC-130A all the way to present day.
History
During the Vietnam War, the decision was made to replace the Douglas AC-47 Spooky gunship with the all new C-130 Hercules. In 1967 the first C-130 was chosen to be converted into the prototype AC-130 as part of Project Gunship II. This was done at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base by the Aeronautical Systems Division. Many modifications were made to the C-130 to transform it into the AC-130A. A direct-view night-vision telescope was installed in the forward door, an early forward-looking infrared device was placed forward of the left wheel well, 4 x 7.62mm GAU-2/A miniguns and 2 x 20mm M61 Vulcan cannons were fitted on the left side. The AC-130A and it’s variants would go on to serve with the US Air Force in every major conflict the US was involved with.
Vietnam War
The AC-130A would be combat ready by September 1967 and was flown to Nha Trang Air Base in South Vietnam to serve during the Vietnam War. On the 18th of August 1968 an AC-130A was diverted to provide fire support at the Katum Special Forces Camp after it came under assault by Viet Cong forces. By the end of the war 6 AC-130’s were lost with 52 air crew members being lost with them, in total AC-130’s reportedly destroyed over 10,000 enemy vehicles.
Cold War
During the Cold War the AC-130 had been upgraded to it’s H variant. During this time it was decided that the AC-130 would become the sole gunship in the US Air Force. The AC-130H would be deployed to Howard Air Force Base in Panama in July 1979 as a precaution due to the rising possibility of hostile actions against American personnel as a result of the Nicaraguan Revolution. In November 1979 4 AC-130H’s flew from Hurlburt Field to Anderson AFB because of the hostage situation at the US Embassy in Iran. Here the AC-130 crews would develop procedures for “communications-out/lights-out” refuelling for later employment.
During Operation Urgent Fury in Grenada in 1983, AC-130’s were used in the suppression of enemy air-defences and were tasked with attacked ground forces which enabled the assault of the Point Salines Airfield by airdrop.
AC-130’s also had a major role during the US invasion of Panama, named Operation Just Cause, in 1989 where they destroyed many key command and control facilities and also the headquarters of the Panama Defence Force. They later provided fire support for US ground forces on multiple occasions.
Gulf War
During the Gulf War of 1990-1991 AC-130’s were tasked with providing close air support and force protection for ground forces, and battlefield interdiction. The primary interdiction targets were early waning/ground control intercept sites along Iraq’s southern border. During the Battle of Khafji the first AC-130 helped stop an Iraqi armoured column on the 29th on January 1991.
The War on Terror
AC-130’s were deployed to the Iraq War, from 2003 to 2011, and to the War in Afghanistan from 2001 to 2021. During both conflicts the AC-130 saw success in destroying ground force en masse. On the day after AC-130’s arrived in Afghanistan they were tasked with attacking Taliban and Al-Qaeda forces near the city of Kunduz. In March 2002, 2 AC-130’s provided 39 combat missions in support of Operation Anaconda in Afghanistan, during the fighting, the AC-130’s fired more than 1,300 40mm and 1,200 105mm rounds at enemy forces.
Whilst in Iraq, the AC-130’s provided close air support for ground forces. Night after night just 1 AC-130 was able to fulfil one or two air support requests. AC-130’s were used to provide fire support in places such as Fallujah which was heavily criticised by human rights groups as the “non-discriminant” aspect of the AC-130 led to many civilian deaths as many of the insurgents would hide amongst the crowded population on non-combatants.
On the 30th of September 2017 the US Air Force announced that the newest variant of the AC-130 had achieved operational capability. The AC-130J. The AC-130J was deployed to Afghanistan in the summer of 2019. On the 21st of November the Air Force released a statement that an AC-130J had performed a strike on the Iranian backed militia group in central Iraq near the Al-Asad Airbase after militia members reportedly launch a ballistic missile against the airbase.
Performance
Max Speed: 669kph (416mph)
Service Ceiling: 12,000m (39,000ft)
Range: 4828km (3000mi)
Max Takeoff Weight: 70,307kg (155,000lbs)
Specification
* Size
Length: 29.79m (97ft 9in)
Wingspan: 40.41m (132ft 7in)
Height: 11.73m (38ft 6in)
Engine: 4 x Rolls-Royce AE 2100D3 - 4,700hp (3,500kW) each.
* Armament
* Guns
- 1 x 30mm ATK GAU-23/A Autocannon
- 1 x 105mm M102 Howitzer
Ammunition for Guns
- 30mm GAU-23/A
- PGU-46 High Explosive Incendiary with Inert Tracer
- 105mm M102
- PGU-45/B High Explosive, Fragmenting
- Explosive mass: 4.6 lb (2.1 kg) Comp B
- FMU-160 Proximity Fuze
- PGU-44/B High Explosive
- Explosive mass: 4.6 lb (2.1 kg) Comp B
- PGU-45/B High Explosive, Fragmenting
* Guided Munitions
-
8 x GBU-39 SDB (Wing Mounted)
-
8 x GBU-53/B SDB II
-
8 x AGM-114 Hellfire
-
10 x GBU-69B Small Glide Munitions (deployed from 10 Common Launch Tubes integrated into the rear ramp door)
-
10 x AGM-176 Griffin (deployed from 10 Common Launch Tubes integrated into the rear ramp door)
-
Avionics
-
HMCMS
-
AN/APN-241
- SAR (Synthetic Aperture Radar) Mode
- Skin Paint Mode
- Ground Mapping Mode
- Windshear Detection Mode
- Weather Mode
-
AN/ALR-56M Radar Warning Receiver
-
AN/AAR-47 (V) 2 Missile Warning System
-
AN/ALE-47 Countermeasure Dispensing System
-
WESCAM’s MX-25D Optical Camera
- HD Thermal Imager
- Type: 3-5µm staring array
- Resolution: 1280 x 1024
- Fields-of-View: 21.7°, 4.4°, 0.88°, 0.58°
- Daylight Continuous Zoom
- Type: 5 Megapixel Color HD
- Fields-of-View: 36.3° to 1.1° - 1080p
* Low-Light Continuous Zoom - Type: Electron Multiplied CCD (Mono)
- Fields-of-View: 40.8° to 2.38°
The rest below are from the AC-130U which was retired in 2020, these aren’t exact to the J but it should be close to what it does have, if you have some information from the J THAT IS UNCLASSIFIED post them below. (Also thanks to @Sahilku010101-psn for information of some of the avionics above)
AN/APQ-180 Multimode Attack Radar
AN/AAQ-26 IDS LWIR FLIR
AN/AAQ-39 Gunship Multispectral Sensor System (GMS2)
AN/ALR-69 Digital RWR
AN/AAR-44 UV Based Missile Approach Warning System (MAWS)
AN/ALQ-172 Digital Radio Frequency Memory (DRFM) Jammer-Based Electronic Countermeasures
AN/ALQ-196 Low Band Jammer
AN/AAQ-24 Nemesis Laser-Based Directional Infrared Counter Measures (DIRCM)
AN/ALE-47 Countermeasure Dispensing System (CMDS)
- Yes
- No
- Standard TT Vehicle
- Squadron Vehicle
- Event Vehicle
- Premium Vehicle
- Ground SP Spawn (Like Drones and Nuke)
- I don’t want it
- 8.0-8.7
- 9.0-9.7
- 10.0-10.7
- 11.0-11.7
- 12.0-12.7
- 13.0+
- I want it as a ground battle spawn instead
- I don’t want it
- 8.0-8.7
- 9.0-9.7
- 10.0-10.7
- 11.0-11.7
- 12.0-12.7
- 13.0+
- I want it as a ground battle spawn instead
- I don’t want it
- 8.0+
- 9.0+
- 10.0+
- 11.0+
- 12.0+
- 13.0+
- I want it added to the TT instead
- I don’t want it
Sources
Wikipedia - Lockheed AC-130
Grey Dynamics - AC-130 Gunship: The Ghostrider
Air Force - AC-130J Ghostrider
Air Force Special Operations Command - AC-130J Ghostrider
Air Force Programs - AC-130J Ghostrider
FY15 Air Force Programs - AC-130J Ghostrider
Air & Space Forces Magazine - AC-130J Ghostrider
American Special Ops - AC-130J Ghostrider
Northrup Grumman Avionics Systems - Tactical Transport Radar AN/APN-241
The Warzone - AESA Radars For AC-130J, MC-130J Sought By SOCOM
Airforce Technology - AC-130J Ghostrider Aircraft
Air & Space Forces Magazine - AC-130J Ghostrider
The Defense Post - L3Harris Delivers Imaging System for US Ghostrider Gunship
L3 Harris - WESCAM MX™-25D, Airborne Targeting and Designating
MX Series - WESCAM’s MX-25. Fully Digital. High Definition. Ultra Long-Range Multi-Sensor, Multi-Spectral Imaging and Targeting Systems.
Joint Program Executive Office Armaments & Ammunition
30mm X 173mm Suite of Ammunition Product Brochure
