AFSOC commander tours new AC-130J facility

Lt. Gen. Brad Heithold, commander of Air Force Special Operations Command, signs an AC-130J part at the Lockheed Martin facility in Crestview, Fla., Dec. 16, 2015. Lockheed Martin is performing a series of modifications to new MC-130Js, which converts the aircraft to the AC gunship model. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Melanie Holochwost)

AFSOC commander tours new AC-130J facility

Published Dec. 18, 2015
By Mike Raynor
Air Force Special Operations Command Public Affairs

CRESTVIEW, Fla. -- “It’s the most lethal airplane in the United States Air Force,” said Lt. Gen. Brad Heithold, commander of Air Force Special Operations Command, as he toured Lockheed Martin’s new AC-130J Modification Facility here Dec. 16.

Lockheed Martin is performing a series of modifications to new MC-130Js, which converts the aircraft to the AC gunship model. Enhancements include adding an advanced suite of sensors and precision weapons, such as the capability to deliver precision guided munitions.

During the tour, Heithold thanked more than 100 Lockheed employees at the facility.

“Thank you for what you do,” he said. “You’re a great industry partner with the United States Air Force and we trust you guys with a lot of things because you deliver.”

The primary mission of the AC-130J Ghostrider is close air support and air interdiction. Close air support missions include aiding troops in contact with the enemy and convoy escort. Air interdiction missions are conducted against preplanned targets or targets of opportunity and include strike coordination and reconnaissance.

“When we take this aircraft into combat, it’s the 19 year old kid on the ground with a rifle that we provide danger close-close air support for,” said Heithold.

The AC-130J is the fourth generation gunship and is being developed to replace the Air Force’s aging fleet of AC-130H, AC-130U and AC-130W gunships.

The first two Ghostriders from the Crestview facility are scheduled to be delivered in the late spring of 2016.