Special ops airmen get fewer new gunships than promised
By Rachel S. Cohen
Thursday, Nov 10
U.S. Special Operations Command originally planned to buy 37 AC-130J Ghostriders to replace three older gunships: the AC-130H Spectre, AC-130W Stinger II and AC-130U Spooky. It now plans end the decade-long acquisition program at 30 aircraft. (Hannah Carranza/Air Force)
Editor’s note: This story was updated Nov. 10 at 8:52 p.m. with additional information from Air Force Special Operations Command.
The Pentagon has quietly cut procurement of its new AC-130J Ghostrider special operations gunships, downsizing the fleet from 37 to 30.
U.S. Special Operations Command originally planned to buy nearly 40 Ghostriders to replace three older gunships: the AC-130H Spectre, AC-130W Stinger II and AC-130U Spooky. Each of those 37 aircraft are now retired.
Rather than swap out the airframes one-for-one as expected, SOCOM wants to end the decade-long AC-130J acquisition seven short of the full program.
SOCOM tucked mentions of the change into its fiscal 2023 budget request, writing that it would maintain a total of 30 AC-130Js. Each airframe costs $165 million apiece, according to an Air Force fact sheet.
https://www.defensenews.com/news/your-air-force/2022/11/10/special-ops-airmen-get-fewer-new-gunships-than-promised/
