The National Interest

The AC-130 Spectre Gunship: America’s Flying ‘Battleship’

Summary and Key Points: The AC-130 “Spectre” gunship, also known as “Spooky,” is a heavily armed aircraft born out of necessity during the Vietnam War to provide close-air support (CAS) in dense ...
The Aviationist

35 Years Later, Retired AC-130H Spectre Crews Recount the Action from 1989’s ‘Operation Just Cause’ in Panama

The crew provided Close Air Support and precision fire power to the U.S. land forces on the ground in Panama. The attack also involved a series of precision strikes by F-117A Nighthawks. Crews of ...
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The AC-130 gunship that avenged Khafji and left the Highway of Death in ruins

From the deserts of Iraq to today’s Special Operations exercises, the AC-130 gunship has defined American close air support for more than six decades. During the Gulf War, one Spectre stayed over ...
The National Interest

AC-130

No matter the variant, the AC-130 is jam-packed with the sort of weaponry one would expect to find on a “gunship.” America’s C-130 transport plane is one of the most iconic and reliable workhorses of ...