Posted on 01/05/2016 3:33:37 PM PST by kristinn
More than a dozen U.S. Army special operations soldiers and a rescue helicopter flight crew are trapped in Marjah, Afghanistan, taking cover in a compound surrounded by enemy fire and hostile Taliban fighters after a U.S. special operations solider was killed earlier in the day, senior U.S. defense officials told Fox News late Tuesday.
A U.S. official described the "harrowing" scene to Fox News, saying there were enemy forces surrounding the compound in which the special operations team sought refuge.
"On the map there is one green dot representing friendly forces stuck in the compound, and around it is a sea of red [representing hostile forces]," the official told Fox News.
A team of nearly 12 special operations forces, including the body of the solider killed Tuesday as well as two other Americans wounded in the fighting remain inside the compound overnight awaiting rescue while fending off the Taliban.
An AC-130 gunship has been called in for air cover as the U.S. troops now wait out the night.
Earlier in the day, two USAF HH-60 Pave Hawk helicopters were sent to rescue the U.S. special operations team. One of the helicopters took fire and waved off the mission and flew back to base.
The other helicopter's blades struck the wall of the compound while attempting a rescue of the special operations team, according to defense officials...
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
This is from the 50 Obama announced to Iris we had coming?
“More than a dozen U.S. Army special operations soldiers and a rescue helicopter flight crew are trapped in Marjah, Afghanistan”
We’ve got them cornered now!
(Good luck, G-d Bless, and RAIN FIRE AND HELL DOWN ON THE MUZZIES!!!!)
Isis...
Spooky!!!
Prayers for our fighting men against the Islamic scum may they unleash the fire’s of hell upon them.
How fricking long to get a spectre 130 out there for Gods sake?
Where are all those predator drones with hellfire missiles?
Where are the B-1 and B-2 bombers and some cruise missiles?
That’s what I wanna know.
Where is Obama right now? Where is Doug Schulman? Pray for our heroes, and God Damn Obama.
Benghazi redux. All part of O’Venal’s grand strategy.
They’re probably over Oregon.
I don’t get why all available air support wasn’t on site and hammering the living hell out of the hostiles. In a sane and normal world, air power would turn the surrounding area into ash.
Obama, the great TV ham actor, has retired from his busy day of emoting on TV, screwing Americans, and shredding the US Constitution.
He simply does not have the time or energy to be concerned over piffles like this.
With anyone except the halfrican mooselimb, there would have been the C130 gunship on the scene pronto the give the Talibun a lesson in fire-power.
When in a gunfight, the side with air support has a decided advantage. The voice of experience. Thank you to the USAF.
They are re-deployed to Oregon.
Prayers up for our spec ops.
For y’all’s interests
AC-130U (Spooky II)
operated by the 4th Special Operations Squadron
armed with:
1 x 25mm GAU-12/U gatling gun (1800 rpm)
1 x 40mm L60 Bofors cannon (120 rpm)
1 x 10mm M102 howitzer (6-10 rpm)
AC-130Us are pressurized, allowing them to operate 5000ft higher then the H models, which results in a greater range.
Note: AFSOC retired the AC-130H Spectre from service in 2014. The Spectre is being replaced with the AC-130J Ghostrider
AC-130J Systems
The weapons kit is essentially the same as that found on the AC-130W Stinger II, namely the Precision Strike Package (PSP). This is a modular package which can see a variety of air-to-ground armaments fitted. These include:
Wing-mounted GBU-39 Small-Diameter Bombs (SDB's)
Bushmaster II Mk44 30mm gun
Gunslinger weapons system featuring an internally-housed launch tube capable of deploying up to 10 GBU-44/B Viper Strike or Griffin small standoff munitions
Later iterations of the AC-130J weapons package may include a 105mm howitzer, as can be found on existing AC-130H/U models, and wing-mounted laser-guide AGM-114 Hellfire missiles.
The Precision Strike Package also features an array of sensors and targetting systems:
A dual-console mission operator pallet fitted in the cargo bay
2 x dual electro-optical infrared sensor pods
synthetic aperture radar pod
pilot helmet-mounted cueing system
advanced communication suite
Aside from the addtion of the PSP, the Ghostrider is almost identical to the Commando II it derives from. One difference is that while the AC-130J maintains the MC-130J's ability to refuel from airborne tankers it loses the ability to refuel others.
One important difference between the AC-130J and existing AC-130U gunships is in the realm of armor. The AC-130U Spooky has armor designed to protect crew and critical systems from a strike from a 37 mm high-explosive incendiary at a range of 10,000 feet. The MC-130J, on the other hand, only protects crew stations (excluding the mission operator pallet) and oxygen systems from 7.62mm ball rounds at 100 meters range. Such armor may exclude the Ghostrider from certain low level operations.
AC-130J Ghostrider- Role
The AC-130J will fly close air support (CAS), armed reconnaissance and air interdiction missions. These may include providing on-call CAS to special ops or regular ground forces. The aircraft may also fly base defense missions and convoy escort operations.
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