Well Good Morning all,
This may be breaking news [ lower case ] - I have not seen it reported anywhere.
AC-130J Ghostriders are now forward deployed to an air base in Saudi. They are currently on standby.
While their primary mission is CAS, for which there is no know use at the moment, their primary role in this war is to back up rescue choppers in case a plane goes down in Iran, and for any Spec Ops missions. Whether they have been used in that later capacity, we will never know.
Much is made of the A-10s loiter time which, as posted above, is 1 hour and 58 minutes. AC-130's loiter time, depending on mission and conditions, is up to 10 hours ...
If there is any truth to the rumor of using Marines to take Kharg Island, expect them to play a part.
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Specs:
Primary Missions: Close air support, air interdiction, and armed reconnaissance.
Crew: 9 personnel (2 pilots, 1 Combat Systems Officer, 1 Weapons Systems Officer, 1 sensor operator, 1 loadmaster, and 3 gunners).
Power Plant: Four Rolls-Royce AE 2100D3 turboprop engines (4,700 shaft horsepower each).
Range: Up to 3,000 miles (extended with air refueling).
Maximum Takeoff Weight: 164,000 lbs (74,400 kg).
Armament:
Trainable 30 mm GAU-23/A cannon.
105 mm howitzer (mounted on the left side of the fuselage).
Precision-guided munitions:
Up to eight GBU-39 Small Diameter Bombs (SDB).
GBU-69 Small Glide Munitions.
AGM-114 Hellfire missiles (on wing pylons).
AGM-176 Griffin missiles (from 10 common launch tubes in the ramp/door).
Sensors & Avionics:
Dual electro-optical/infrared (EO/IR) sensors.
Integrated digital flight deck with dual inertial navigation systems and GPS.
Side-mounted heads-up display (HUD) for pilots.
Advanced mission management and fire-control systems.
The AC-130J Ghostrider is not designed to operate in contested or high-threat environments with advanced air defenses. Its performance in such scenarios is severely limited due to inherent design characteristics:
Low Speed and Altitude: It flies slowly at low altitudes (around 7,000 feet), making it highly vulnerable to radar detection and surface-to-air threats.
Large Radar and Visual Signature: Its size and propeller-driven engines make it easily detectable and trackable by enemy air defense systems.
Lack of Stealth: The AC-130J has no stealth features, increasing its susceptibility to both radar-guided and infrared-guided weapons.
While equipped with defensive systems - such as the AN/ALR-56M radar warning receiver, AN/AAR-47 missile warning system, chaff/flares, and lightweight composite armor - these are primarily effective against MANPADS and basic radar threats, not advanced integrated air defense systems (IADS).
Historically, AC-130s have been restricted to permissive environments, such as counterinsurgency operations in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Somalia, where enemy air defenses are minimal or nonexistent. In a near-peer conflict involving modern fighter jets, long-range SAMs, or AEW&C coverage, the AC-130J would require extensive suppression of enemy air defenses (SEAD) and air superiority to survive - even then, its risk of attrition remains high.
