AC-130J ‘Ghostrider’ The US Air Force’s newest gunships will enter service later than expected because of plans to load extra weapons on the aircraft.
WC-130J-97-5309 NOAA’s Ark. The most important function of these reconnaissance aircraft is to collect highdensity, high-accuracy weather data from within the storm’s environment. This includes penetration of the centre or hurricane eye of the storm. This vital information is instantly relayed by satellite to the National Hurricane Centre to aid in the accurate forecasting of hurricane movement and intensity.
The Air Force launched an initiative in 2011 to acquire sixteen new gunships based on new-built MC-130J ‘Combat Shadow II’ special operations tankers outfitted with a ‘precision strike package’ to give them an attack capability and increase the size of the gunship fleet to 33 aircraft, a net increase of eight after the planned retirement of eight aging AC-130Hs. By September 2013 fourteen MC-130W ‘Dragon Spear’ aircraft had been converted to AC-130W ‘Stinger II’ gunships. The ‘Stinger’ gunships were deployed to Afghanistan to replace the aging AC-130H aircraft and provide an example for the new AC-130J ‘Ghostrider’. Modifications began with crews cutting holes in the aircraft to make room for weapons and adding kits and bomb bases for laser-guided munitions. Crews added a 105mm cannon, 20-inch infrared and electrooptical sensors and 250lb bombs on the wings. The AC-130J will follow the path of the ‘Dragon Spear’ programme, along similar lines to the USMC ‘Harvest Hawk’ programme.
Air Force Special Operations Command has decided to augment the existing fleet on AC-130H/U gunships in the short term by outfitting a portion of the MC-130W ‘Dragon Speer’ aircraft with a Precision Strike Package (PSP), similar to but more elaborate than the USMC’s Harvest Hawk kit, which would give these Hercules, dubbed ‘AC-130W ‘Stinger II’ the ability to perform Close Air Support (CAS), ISTAR (Information, Surveillance, Target Acquisition and Reconnaissance), armed over-watch and support Special Forces missions without having to buy an entirely new aircraft. A single Bushmaster 30mm cannon is fitted to the forward port side of the fuselage, along with a pair of highly capable AN/AAQ-38 FLIR turrets both under the nose and under the port forward fuselage sponson-like structure. Also, a modular Battle Management System (BMS) and advanced communications system, including the latest video and information datalinks are tied to a series of missionized control stations mounted inside the spacious cargo hold. The ‘Stinger’s’ real sting comes from its ability to lob GBU-176 ‘Griffin’ air-to-ground missiles, or GBU-44 ‘Viper Strike’ munitions off of its rear ramp. This simple but effective rear ramp arsenal configuration is affectionately called ‘Gunslinger.’ Ten of the low-yield’Griffins’ or ‘Viper Strikes’ can be carried in the cradle mounted on the ramp at any given time, although there is room for more to be stowed in the hold until needed. Outboard wing pylons carry AGM-114 ‘Hellfire’ missiles and 250lb guided GBU-39 Small Diameter Bombs.
On 9 January 2013 the Air Force began converting the first MC-130J ‘Combat Shadow II’ into an AC-130J ‘Ghostrider’. The first AC-130J entered service in 2017. The Air Force decided to add a 105 mm cannon to the AC-130J in addition to the 30mm cannon and smart bombs because the shells are more accurate and cheaper than dropping SDBs. AFSOC is interested in adding a directed energy weapon to the AC-130J. Other potential additions include an airborne active denial system to perform crowd control and deploying small unmanned aerial vehicles from the common launch tubes to provide remote video feed and coordinates to weapons operators through cloud cover. By 2018 AC-130 gunships will have been providing close air support for special operators for fifty years. Although the aircraft have been kept relevant through constant upgrades to their weaponry, sensor packages and countermeasures, they are not expected to be survivable in future non-permissive environments due to their high signatures and low airspeeds. Military analysts, such as the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, have suggested that AFSOC invest in more advanced technologies to fill the role to operate in future contested combat zones, including a mix of lowcost disposable unmanned and stealthy strike aircraft.
Perhaps the most dangerous element of AC-130 gunship operations is the relatively low altitude at which the aircraft must operate, exposing themselves to enemy ground fire. Gunpowder technology still limits the effectiveness of the airborne weapons platforms used by the US Special Forces. Lockheed Aircraft Service Company began exploring some new hypervelocity weapon technologies developed in the Strategic Defence Initiative Organization (SDIO) or ‘Star Wars’ programme that promises to increase dramatically the effectiveness of airborne gunships. Craig H. Smyser, principal investigator of advanced weapons systems studies, has written: ‘Low projectile velocities mean less energy on target and less accuracy because the slow-moving projectile must spend more time subject to the distorting effects of wind and weather, requiring pilots to fly closer in than might be safe.’
Directed energy devices such as lasers and particle beams are considered not ‘mature’ enough for tactical applications to gunships, but hypervelocity weapons such as hypercannon, coilguns, electrothermal, light-gas and liquidpropellant guns, developed for the ‘Star Wars’ applications, could effectively be used aboard gunships of the future. A study has shown that a 4,600hp, turbine-powered, 150mm hypervelocity electro-magnetic rail-gun and all its support equipment, could be accommodated onboard an AC-130. Hypervelocity guns would enable an AC-130U gunship (and a C-5 for that matter) to operate at stand-off distances at altitudes over 15,000 feet - well above the range of 37-mm and 57mm AAA fire and IR missiles. Target accuracy remains high because the high projectile velocities of the ‘Star Wars’ weapons are virtually unaffected by the distorting effects of wind and weather.
This is the future. Then, as now, the part played by the mysterious Hercules of AFSOC may well never be fully told. However, when called upon to deploy specialized airpower, or to deliver special operations, or to conduct psychological and counter-measures operations, as well as a host of other covert activities. Special Operations Command is ready - anytime, anywhere.
The first AC-130J ‘Ghostrider’ gunship arrives at Hurlburt Field in Florida on 29 July 2015. Both the AC-130W and AC-130J lack the heavy armour of their predecessors, which will enhance their range and operating altitude but hurt in the down-low survivability department. Like the AC-130W, the AC-130J ‘Ghostrider’ features Integrated Helmet Mounted Sights (IHADSS) for the pilots: the same 30mm ATK GAU-23/A auto cannon and 105mm howitzer; ‘Gunslinger’ rear ramp modification weapons system for AGM-176 ‘Griffin’ missiles and/or GBU-44/B ‘Viper Strike’ munitions (10 round magazines); wing mounted AGM-114 ‘Hellfire’ missiles; GBU-39 Small Diameter Bombs (SDBs) and/or GBU-53/B SDB II, along with the same command and control interfaces and a high-power synthetic aperture radar pod that can provide live targeting for SDB IIs and other weaponry. All these systems can be reverse-upgraded into the AC-130W fleet and can be easily modified back into an MC-130 special operations transport and visa-versa if needed. The fleet of AC-130s will grow to 45 airframes and can be rapidly increased as required. These include 17 AC-130Us, twelve AC-130Ws and 16 AC-130Js.
Line up of MC-130H aircraft (87-0024, the nearest) at RAF Mildenhall in November 2014.
Chapter 8 Endnotes
1 Quoted in US Air Force Special Operations Command by Rick Llinares and Andy Evans (SAM Publications 2010).
2 It was transferred to the outdoor Air Park at the National Museum of the United States Air Force at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio in 1976 and converted back to AC-130A configuration in the late 1990s.
3 Vietnam Air Losses by Chris Hobson (Midland Publishing 2001).
4 Vietnam Air Losses by Chris Hobson (Midland Publishing 2001).
5 After overrunning the ARVN bases at Tân Cảnh, Đắk Tô and the Firebases along Rocket Ridge the PAVN turned their attention to the base and to Ben Het Camp which blocked the avenues for attack on Kontum. The base had been subjected to artillery fire since 24 April, but from midda
y on 6 May the volume of fire increased dramatically with over 500 rounds systematically destroying the base bunkers and an infantry assault by the PAVN 64th Regiment penetrated the perimeter. At 19:00 the two US advisers at the base were evacuated by helicopter. The attack was repulsed and the ARVN continued to hold for a further 3 days during which time US airpower, including gunships and 16 B-52 strikes, was concentrated on the attacking PAVN. On the night of 7 May the PAVN attempted another assault but were again repulsed suffering 300 killed. On the morning of 9 May the ARVN abandoned the base in the face of a PAVN tank and infantry assault, only 97 ARVN and their dependents reaching safety in Kontum.
6 Vietnam Air Losses by Chris Hobson (Midland Publishing 2001).
7 It involved seven HH-53s, eight A-1s, three HC-130s, eleven flights of strike aircraft (seven of which made attacks), four EB-66s, six F-105s, fourteen ‘Nail’ FACs, three ‘Raven’ FACs, three ‘Air America’ helicopters, four AC-130s and an F-4 Fast FAC. Vietnam Air Losses by Chris Hobson (Midland Publishing 2001).
8 The rescue of Bat 21 ‘Bravo’ the call sign for Iceal ‘Gene’ Hambleton, from behind North Việtnamese lines was the ‘largest, longest and most complex search-and-rescue’ operation during the Viêtnam War. It began on 2 April, the third day of the Easter Offensive when the early morning flight was led by Bat 20 flown by Lieutenant Colonel Robert Singletary. Hambleton was the navigator aboard a EB-66 aircraft escorting a cell of three B-52s. Bat 21 was configured to gather signals intelligence including identifying North Việtnamese anti-aircraft radar installations to enable jamming. Bat 21 was destroyed by a SA-2 surface-to-air missile and Hambleton was the only survivor, parachuting behind the front lines into a battlefield filled with thousands of North Việtnamese Army soldiers.
9 In November 2001the USAF began dropping several BLU-82s during the campaign to destroy Taliban and al-Qaeda bases in Afghanistan, to attack and demoralize personnel and to destroy underground and cave complexes. It proved a very effective anti-personnel weapon and as an intimidation weapon because of its very large blast radius (variously reported as 5,000 to 5,500 feet) combined with a visible flash and audible sound at long distances. American forces used the bomb in December 2001 during the Battle of Tora Bora. On 15 July 2008 airmen from the Duke Field 711th Special Operations Squadron, 919th Special Operations Wing dropped the last operational BLU-82 at the Utah Test and Training Range. There were 225 constructed. The BLU-82 was retired in 2008 and replaced with the more powerful MOAB
Chapter Nine
Antipodean Hercules
The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) has operated a total of forty-eight C-130 aircraft. The type entered Australian service in December 1958, when 36 Squadron at Sydney’s Richmond Air Force Base accepted the first of twelve C-130A-50-LMs, replacing its venerable Douglas C-47 Dakotas. The acquisition made Australia the overseas customer of the Hercules. In 1966 the C-130As were joined by twelve C-130Es, which equipped 37 Squadron. The C-130As were replaced by twelve C-130Es delivered from 1966 and the C-130Es by twelve C-130J-30 Hercules in 1999. RAAF Hercules’ have frequently been used to deliver disaster relief in Australia and the Pacific region, as well as to support military deployments overseas. The 17th of June 1963 was a red letter day for the RNZAF when the New Zealand cabinet approved an immediate order of three C-130E aircraft, including spares and support equipment and approval in principle was also given for the eventual purchase of five maritime versions. New Zealand thus became the fifth nation to purchase the Hercules.
Following the deployment of the 1st Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment to South Việtnam in early 1965, the RAAF began fortnightly C-130 flights into the country from June that year. These flights were initially conducted by C-130As and carried high-priority cargo and passengers from Richmond to Vũng Tàu in South Việtnam via either Butterworth or Singapore. The scale of the supply flights into South Việtnam expanded in 1967 when 2 Squadron RAAF, which was equipped with English Electric Canberra bombers was deployed to Phan Rang. A large airlift codenamed ‘Winter Grip’ was also conducted in mid-1967 to replace two Australian Army battalions, which had completed their year-long tour of duty, with a pair of fresh battalions. The Hercules were called upon to support the withdrawal of the 1st Australian Task Force (1 ATF) from South Việtnam and Nos. 36 and 37 Squadrons undertook many sorties to fly equipment and personnel out of the country during 1971. In late 1972 C-130s were used to withdraw the last remaining Australian force in South Việtnam, the Australian Army Training Team Việtnam; the final elements of this force departed aboard two Hercules on 20 December 1972.
As well as transport operations, the Hercules flew many evacuation flights out of Việtnam to transfer wounded or sick personnel to Australia, via Butterworth, for further treatment. These flights were initially conducted as part of the regular courier service and the patients and RAAF nurses had to endure uncomfortable conditions as the aircraft had only rudimentary facilities for personnel on stretchers. Separate evacuation flights began on 1 July 1966 and continued at fortnightly intervals until 1972; more flights were made during periods in which 1 ATF suffered heavy casualties. While the flights were generally successful, only C-130Es were assigned to this task from May 1967 after an article criticising the use of noisy C-130As to transport wounded personnel was published in The Medical Journal of Australia. The C-130Es provided much more comfortable conditions and were capable of flying directly between South Việtnam and Australia when required. A total of 3,164 patients had been transported to Australia by the time the C-130 evacuation flights ended in early 1972. The Hercules also returned the bodies of servicemen killed in Việtnam to Australia.
Many of the RAAF C-130s were redeployed to South Việtnam shortly before the end of the war in 1975. The rapid North Việtnamese advance during the Spring Offensive displaced hundreds of thousands of South Việtnamese civilians and the Australian Government deployed a detachment of Hercules to Saïgon in March 1975 as part of an international aid effort coordinated by the United States. This force, which was designated Detachment ‘S’, had an average strength of seven C-130s and about one hundred air and ground crew and was initially used to transport civilian refugees away from the front lines. After South Việtnamese soldiers were reported to have been transported alongside civilians, Prime Minister Gough Whitlam directed that the Hercules were to only carry humanitarian cargo. As the North Việtnamese advanced on Saïgon, Detachment ‘S’ was moved to Bangkok in Thailand, but continued to fly into South Việtnam each day. Overall, Detachment ‘S’ had carried 1,100 refugees and 900 tonnes of supplies by the end of the war. On 4 and 17 April, aircraft of the detachment flew 271 orphaned children to Bangkok as part of the US-led Operation ‘Babylift’. In late April, two of 37 Squadron’s C-130Es were assigned to the United Nations to transport supplies throughout South East Asia; this force was designated Detachment ‘N’. The C-130Es began operations on 3 May and were mainly used to fly supplies into Laos. The aircraft transported cargo between Thailand, Butterworth, Hong Kong and Singapore; by the time this mission ended in early June, the two Hercules had conducted 91 sorties for the UN. Aircraft of Detachment ‘S’ evacuated Australian embassy personnel from Phnom Penh in Cambodia, as well as Saïgon, shortly before they fell to Khmer Rouge and North Việtnamese forces in April 1975, after which the force returned to Australia. Detachment ‘N’ also evacuated the Australian embassy in Vientiane, Laos, during early June 1975.
The four Hercules models (C-130s A, E, H & J) operated by the RAAF lined up at Point Cook. C-130A A97-214 (57-0507) is nearest the camera with A97-160 C-130E (65-12897) behind. (RAAF Museum)
Nineteen of the RAAF’s fleet of twenty-four C-130s took part in relief efforts in 1974-75 after Cyclone ‘Tracy’ struck Darwin. Since then, the Hercules have been involved in humanitarian missions to New Guinea, Ethiopia, Rwanda, Cambodia, Bali, Sumatra and New Zealand. They have also seen service during the Iranian Revolution in 1979, the Fijian coups in 1987, operations in Somalia in 1993, INT
ERFET operations in East Timor in 1999-2000 and the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq beginning in 2001. In over fifty years of Australian service, the Hercules has accumulated 800,000 flying hours. 37 Squadron became the RAAF’s sole Hercules operator in 2006 when 36 Squadron transferred its C-130Hs prior to converting to Boeing C-17 Globemaster III heavy transports.
40 Squadron RNZAF at Whenuapai operates five C-130Hs, including the first three production H models which, were delivered in April 1965. The squadron’s duties include flights to the Antarctic base at McMurdo. The first major operation carried out by the RNZAF C-130Hs was in July 1965 when the three aforementioned C-130Hs (followed by the other two in January 1969) airlifted the New Zealand Army’s 161 Artillery battery and its equipment from New Zealand to Biên Hòa AFB in South Việtnam. Over seven days, 14-21 July, the aircraft carried ninety-six soldiers, five 105mm howitzers, fourteen laden Land Rovers, eight trailers, two water tankers and other equipment - a total of seventy tons. 40 Squadron continued regular flights in support of New Zealand’s contribution to this war, flying into Saïgon and Vũng Tàu. Between 6-19 April 1975 it made three trips between Saïgon and Singapore to evacuate New Zealand Embassy staff, refugee children and news media representatives.
‘There is no doubt that the C-130E is the right aircraft for the job. It will perform effectively, efficiently and economically, in both strategic and tactical roles.’ These were the words of Air Vice-Marshal Ian Morrison, Chief of the RNZAF Air Staff in August 1962. When the RNZAF entered the 1960s its heavy transport fleet consisted of three Handley Page Hastings Mk.IIIs. These aircraft were required to over the globe to meet RNZAF and New Zealand Government requirements. Delivered during 1952 and 1953, the Hastings was World War Two technology and at the end of their economical life. Furthermore, as ‘tail-draggers’, with only side doors for loading they were not suitable for the vast range of cargoes moved by the RNZAF. The search for a replacement heavy transport aircraft commenced as a result of the 1961 ‘Defence White Paper’, which directed replacement of the existing transport fleet. As an interim measure, three DC-6 aircraft were purchased from Tasman Empire Airlines Limited (TEAL) to augment the Hastings.
C-130 Hercules Page 30