The USAF’s AC-130U gunship
completed its nal scheduled
combat deployment on July 8 as
two ‘Spookys’ returned to Eglin
AFB’s Hurlburt Field, Florida. The
gunships, which are operated
by the 1st Special Operations
Wing’s 4th Special Operations
Squadron, will remain on alert
for contingency deployments.
Air Force Special Operations
Command (AFSOC) is preparing
the new AC-130J ‘Ghostrider’
for its rst deployment, which is
expected later this year or in early- The 4th SOS received its rst
Block 30 AC-130J in March 2019.
The ‘Ghostrider‘ rst ew in
January 2013 and the Block 20
AC-130U serials 90-0167 and 89-1056 taxi at Hurlburt Field, Florida,
concluding the fi nal scheduled combat deployment of the ‘Spooky’ on
July 8. During the deployment the gunships were assigned to the 4th
Expeditionary Special Operations Squadron. USAF/A1C Blake WilesDEPLOYMENT NEWS
- C-130Hs operated by the
Connecticut Air National Guard’s
103rd Airlift Wing and the
Montana ANG’s 120th Airlift Wing
recently arrived for service under
the 386th Air Expeditionary Wing/
Expeditionary Operations Group
at Ali Al Salem Air Base in Kuwait.
They replaced C-130Js own by
the Rhode Island ANG’s 143rd
Airlift Wing, which returned to
Quonset State Airport in North
Kingstown. While deployed to the
base the Hercules are assigned
to the 779th Expeditionary Airlift
Squadron. The Kuwaiti air base
serves as the USAF’s primary
tactical airlift hub for resupply
missions and combat service
support throughout the Central
Command Area of Responsibility
for Operations ‘Inherent Resolve’,
‘Spartan Shield’ and ‘Freedom’s
Sentinel’. - The USAF has deployed 12
F-22As to Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar,
for the rst time. The aircraft,
which are operated by pilots
from the 1st Fighter Wing and
the Virginia Air National Guard’s
192nd Fighter Wing from Joint
Base Langley-Eustis, Virginia,
arrived at the base on June 27.
According to a US Air Forces
Central (AFCENT), the Raptors
were deployed to the region in
order to defend American forces
and interests in the US Central
Command (CENTCOM) area of
responsibility. The move followed
the Iranian shoot-down of an
unmanned US Navy RQ-4A and
alleged attacks on commercial
tankers in the Persian Gulf. The
Raptors initially ew from Langley
to Morón Air Base, Spain, where
they arrived on June 25 and 26.- The USS Harry S. Truman (CVN
- carrier strike group (CSG) is
now scheduled to deploy in place
of the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower
(CVN 69) CSG this fall. The
Eisenhower had been scheduled
to deploy, but its unavailability
due to maintenance resulted in
a shift. The ship is completing
a maintenance period that was
originally scheduled to take
six months but has stretched
to 19. In preparation for the
deployment, the Truman Carrier
Strike Group got under way
from Naval Station Norfolk,
Virginia, on July 5 to begin a
composite training unit exercise
(COMPTUEX). The Truman CSG’s
last deployment was conducted
in two parts from April to July
and September to December
- This is the third deployment
for the ship in four years and
it is being conducted during
the strike group’s ‘sustainment
phase’ under the US Navy’s
Optimized Fleet Response Plan
(OFPR) readiness generation
model and the Dynamic Force
Employment concept.
‘SPOOKY’ GUNSHIP COMPLETES
FINAL COMBAT DEPLOYMENT
KC-46 PROGRESS
THE 22ND AIR Refueling Wing’s
344th Air Refueling Squadron
(ARS) at McConnell AFB, Kansas,
commenced operational test and
evaluation of the KC-46A Pegasus
in June. Lt Col Wesley Spurlock, the
squadron commander, says that six
crews are currently assigned to tasks
that will provide a broad overviewof the KC-46’s future suitability. ‘Our
aircraft commanders are reporting
after every single ight what they
did, what they planned to do,
lessons learned, issues they’ve had,’
he told Air Force Magazine recently.
The 344th ARS is expected to
grow to 24 KC-46 crews by the
end of this year, with its associate
reserve unit the 924th ARS to eld
10 aircrews.PROPELLER UPGRADES FOR
AIR NATIONAL GUARD C-130S
COLLINS AEROSPACE SYSTEMS,
which is a subsidiary of United
Technologies Corporation, has
been awarded a contract to
provide NP2000 propellers for 24
Air National Guard (ANG) C-130H
aircraft. The contractor, which
was previously known as UTC
Aerospace Systems, has delivered
NP2000 propeller upgrades for
12 ANG C/LC-130H aircraft and
the new contract increases the
total number of upgrades for theANG to 36. Collins Aerospace was
previously awarded a contract
to support NP2000 propeller
upgrades for 24 Lockheed Martin
C/KC-130T aircraft of the US Navy.
The new eight-blade propellers are
also in service on US Navy E-2C/D
and C-2A. The system improves the
C-130’s operational performance
and reduces maintenance time
and cost. Additionally, it reduces
vibration and interior noise and
increases power.
A US Navy C-130T (BuNo 164993) equipped with
the new NP2000 propellers on approach to RAF
Lossiemouth, Scotland, on July 8. Niall PatersonMcConnell AFB, Kansas, welcomed its seventh KC-46A when serial 16-
46023 arrived on June 28 for the 344th Air Refueling Squadron, which
should receive 12 KC-46As by the end of the year. USAF/SrA Skyler Combs[NEWS] UNITED STATES
10 September 2019 //^ http://www.combataircraft.net
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