When the US Air Force needed to boost the numbers in its gunship fleet it turned to converted C-130Hs, giving rise to the potent AC-130W, better known as the Stinger II.
16TH SPECIAL OPERATIONS SQUADRON
AS FAR BACK as 2004, the US Air Force was looking to boost the ‘legacy’ C-130 fleet of its Special Operations Command (AFSOC). This came about partly because of delays in wholesale fleet renewal with brand-new ‘special ops’ C-130J derivatives.
The result was a plan to convert 12 ‘vanilla’ C-130Hs to special operations MC-130H Combat Talon II configuration to augment the existing fleet. Initially, the converted aircraft were known as the MC-130W Combat Spear. The first examples were converted by a team that included Lockheed Martin, L3 Communications and Boeing. They were upgraded to a standard that would permit both low-level and in-flight refueling tanker missions using Mk32B-902E refueling pods.
The initial converted MC-130W was re-delivered on June 28, 2006, but by the time the last of the dozen aircraft (serial 87-9288) was returned to the Air Force in March 2010 plans were already afoot to begin equipping the MC-130Ws with a palletized gunship capability to supplement the AC-130 fleets.
The newly co…
