Wednesday, Jun. 29, 2011

AC-130 Gunship

The Lockheed AC-130 gunship is one of the most feared platforms flying, and with good reason. The Spooky (older versions are known as the Spectre) is a variant of the tested C-130 cargo plane. It packs an army's worth of weaponry: a 25 mm GAU-12 Equalizer cannon, a Bofors 40mm auto-cannon, and one 105 mm M102 cannon — which fires a shell more than four inches in diamater. Up to 13 members make up an AC-130 crew.


For the inside story on America's military operations around the world, check out Mark Thompson's blog, Battleland: Where military intelligence is not a contradiction in terms.