That would be kind of cool to see

I was wondering about that too. Were they just circling around a civilian area for their mock engagement? Was also wondering, how this plane defends itself considering that it's such an obvious target just slowly circling around.

@@LPM147 For the first question, they had to do it since their live fire range had some problems so they couldn’t use it (unsure when was it said, but they said it in the video). For the second question, the plane itself only has RF and Infrared countermeasures if I remember correctly. Friendly fighters in the area are supposed to be the one to defend these planes. What you said is correct, the plane is basically a big target circling an area, and that’s why air superiority must be achieved first; something quite easily done in the Middle East since the militias, despite usage some anti-aircraft weaponry, were virtually unable to fight for air superiority.

"ENEMY AC-130 ABOVE!!"

Cute comment 😭😭😭 ur imagination is wild

HOORAH ?!

Fun fact, we have to do radiation tests every so often. A few of the planes failed the test, so we pull the circuit breaker and the crew can't use them.

Heads up micro waves destroy the nutrients in food

Here, a crayon

USMC KC-130s have the same microwave, coffee maker, and shitter.

AC-130 is the ultimate expression of the bravery of being out of range. Gunships can't be used against Russia, China or even Iran. They are only used where the US is stealing resources of people that can't shoot back at the planes.

In Iraq? US airforce needs to stop funding this project as soon as possible, this thing would get shot down within a day if this was Russia for example, not Iraq. Big ass flying plane with a sign 'shoot me' on it.

All of our squadron patches have an FDE version, we have a flag too. The spectres across the street have a similar one.

@@ChiefCrewin Right--so did we. I'm just not sure I like the changes they made to the original version....the red background instead of dark blue just doesn't feel as cool to me ;) At least you kept Jakal : coolest callsign I ever had in my years as a pilot!

Still missing the comma. No mission, too demanding. (SOG 99-05)

@@MyBelch or the just as loved alternate: No mission too demeaning

Did you ever try the Habu Saki?

I bet very soon it will have laser defense pods

@@brianskinner5212drone drop pods

Yeah maybe it is classified but I thought they were testing lasers on it. Guess that was just all bogus information but there were definitely articles saying this one had much more capabilities. Short of the engine upgrade I'm not sure what else is updated outside of the system it's self. They really didn't go into much detail as the weapons seem similar. I'm suprised there isn't a third station with a WSO for drone control to be honest. I'm a little confused too about the precision... Thought the AC-130 gunships were always notorious for precise firing even back during Vietnam due to the maneuver they do while firing.

In Vietnam they fired between 3500 and 9500 ft, depending on the ground threats at the time (AAA or SAMs). There's plenty of classified defensive measures, suffice to say, our gunships are perfectly safe as long as air superiority is achieved. In a theoretical war against China, they'd be perfect for base defense or surgical strikes.

@@ChiefCrewin Theres a problem you haven't mentioned tho . Air superiority and supremacy are two totally different things and this cant operate within a zone of air superiority , it needs supremacy to operate safely . Supremacy would mean all GBAD has been destroyed bar manpads , the only things remaining would be hardened defensive lines something that the aircraft achieving air supremacy in the first place would have no problems dealing with , this is a counter insurgency shock and awe weapon it would get absolutely bodied or pose little use in a modern theater . as much as i love it and respect the US updating it to such a modern standard its hardly an effective unit up against china . Source : i'm an air defense specialist

@@Husker5454 Thanks for the commentary I was going to say that engaging China will be beyond the capabilities of this weapons platform

I see fat sailors, Airmen, support soldiers all the time. Definitely not your father’s military! Still most technological military in the world!

I guess it's a combination of if they role really needs fitness (versus if it would just be a nice added attribute to have) as well as the military possibly being more flexible in who they recruit since much of the population doesn't want to even consider joining the military to begin with.

It is indeed fun to fly

you know that plane doesn't fly by itself, right? The US doesn't fight like that.

30mm rounds are explosive with higher area effect.

And longer range

30mm > 25mm

The 25mm is largely pointless above about 8000ft, more of a "crowd pleaser" or to make the enemies keep their heads down.

Nope, just cause it to fall out of it's firing orbit. But they can figure out where it's from so the firer will soon be dead.

@@ChiefCrewin That may or may not be true. If the anti-air capability is robust enough (e.g. multiple launchers in different locations), then that could pose a problem. Regardless, I am pretty sure that they ideally would not want to risk using it even if there was a single legit anti-air threat in the area since they only has 30 of these new J-variant ones.

Nope. It's stability and the fact, that every country accepts its (even their sworn enemies, lol).

You do realize that the only military in the world with fully functional active denial systems is the US, right? 😂 Thank you Raytheon.

@@R-UBBERD-UCKdrones my good man. Drones. Welcome to the IEDs of the sky!!! Cheap, ez to make, and impossible to avoid all of them.

@@prophecyrat2965 Which drones, specifically? An AC130 can fly over 400mph at altitudes of 25,000ft+.. the world's fastest drone can fly 224mph, and that's a racing drone. Not some Iranian built quad copter with explosives strapped to it. The cross winds of an AC130 cruising altitude alone would knock it out of the sky. The deadliest drone known to man, the MQ1 Predator, has a maximum speed of 125mph and 25,000ft max alt. The Russian counterpart would be shot down by the AC130's fighter jet escorts within seconds of entering it's airspace. Care to try again?

@@prophecyrat2965 I can't fathom the thought process behind thinking that a 165M$ gunship can be brought down by a drone. 🤣 Thanks for the quick laugh, bud.

@@R-UBBERD-UCK Look dude, no sarcasm. No wierd “try agains”. Yes its a Gunship, a flying fortress and there is likley nothing save modern air defences and fighter jets that can bring it down… BUT if there were some sort of drone like “balloon”, that could reach altitudes as great as the AC-130c, a “balloon” that could theroetically be Autonomously piloted, even mostly by General Inteligemce systems, using solar and what not as passive power… and say this machines has some pay lodad ofvery small deones that could fly thrugh the air and just interfere with Airships electronic systems even… with lasers, virus or detonation, chemicals, or whatever. Oh well, I guess thats just in the real of scince fiction, its not like the world millitary would just reveal every single one of its most advance technologies anyways.

Probably to make them Nato freindly

No

Prob will use LAWs or AWS

Too short range.

Lasers can’t do that yet. And an airborne laser won’t do that anytime soon - takes too much power for a plane to supply.

Pretty sure the ATL is already in testing…with success. Idk, just saying.