Free Republic

KABUL, Afghanistan - Maj. Paul Anderson has probably seen more of Afghanistan than most people in the country, although he usually sees it from 6,400 metres above the ground. "That is the main and only highway between Kandahar and Kabul," he says, pointing at the tiny line of cars and trucks barely visible from the cockpit of his Hercules C-130 transport plane. The view out the window closely resembles a giant, coloured three-dimensional map. There is little to break up the monotony of sand and mountains except patches of green in some of the deeper valleys, the occasional silver thread...

Taliban militants have used a heat-seeking surface-to-air missile to attack a Western aircraft over Afghanistan for the first time. Click to enlarge Click to enlarge: how the attack was launched The attack with a weapon believed to have been smuggled across the border with Iran represents a worrying increase in the capability of the militants which Western commanders had long feared. The Daily Telegraph has learnt that the Taliban attempted to bring down an American C-130 Hercules aircraft flying over the south-western province of Nimroz on July 22. The crew reported that a missile system locked on to their aircraft...

<p>A military plane may have crashed Tuesday afternoon in southeast Kentucky, though there are conflicting reports about where or if the plane went down.</p> <p>Initial reports said that a C-130 Hercules had crashed in Knox County near Granny Rose Hollow at Highway 459 near the Whitley County line. Several reports were called in to police just after 4 p.m. that a large plane had been flying low in the area trailing smoke, clipped some trees, then went down.</p>

An RAF Hercules transport plane has been destroyed in southern Iraq after it was damaged in an "incident" on landing, the Ministry of Defence said. Two people suffered minor injuries in Monday's incident, after which the C130 plane was destroyed because of the potential risk involved in recovery. A military spokesman in Basra said there was no evidence of hostile action during the landing in Maysan province. The plane, based at RAF Lyneham, had been on a routine re-supply journey. It landed 20km north of Al-Amarah at about 2010 local time (1710GMT). The two people injured were taken to hospital,...

Fervent hopes and a brief break in the weather brought no satisfaction to relatives and friends of three climbers missing on the dangerous north side of Mount Hood. The clear, cold morning turned foul by midday Saturday, before searchers on two sides of the mountain and helicopter crews retired for the night because of weather and darkness, finding no trace of the three men. The Hood River County sheriff's office, a lead agency in the search, said efforts would continue Sunday. On Saturday, a C-130 with infrared heat-seeking capability from the Nevada Air National Guard took to the skies over...

ST. LOUIS, Oct. 13, 2006 -- The Boeing Company [NYSE: BA] has begun flight testing for the Advanced Tactical Laser (ATL) Advanced Concept Technology Demonstration (ACTD) program and has generated "first light" of ATL's high-energy chemical laser in ground tests, achieving two key milestones in the laser gunship development effort. During the "low-power" flight tests, which began Oct. 10 and conclude this fall, the ATL ACTD system will find and track ground targets at White Sands Missile Range, N.M. A low-power, solid-state laser will serve as a surrogate for ATL's high-power chemical laser. To prepare for the tests, the ATL...

Thick as thieves Wilson John Clandestine dealings between Pakistan and North Korea leave no room for doubt that their nuclear weapons programmes are closely entwined On June 7, 1998, a gun shot shattered the tranquillity of Islamabad's posh colony, referred to as E-7, which houses, among other notables, AQ Khan, known, rightly or wrongly, as the father of the Pakistani nuclear bomb. The firing took place a few metres from away AQ Khan's residence. The dead woman was later identified as Kim Sa-nae, a member of the 20-strong North Korean nuclear scientists delegation living, as Pakistan media reports said, in...

Secret RAF sorties keep Iraq border troops on go By Thomas Harding, Defence Correspondent (Filed: 09/10/2006) RAF Hercules transport aircraft are flying secret missions into the heart of insurgent territory in Iraq to re-supply long range desert patrols. Up to three sorties a week are being flown into Maysan province. The large but agile aeroplanes land on hastily constructed airstrips to deliver food, fuel and ammunition to cavalry soldiers operating far from friendly bases. The missions have enabled troops from the Queen's Royal Hussars battlegroup to double the time spent watching the porous border with Iran for smugglers carrying bombs,...

by Staff Sgt. Ryan Hansen 386th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs 8/15/2006 - SOUTHWEST ASIA (AFPN) -- It may be surprising to hear that the 386th Air Expeditionary Wing has a Vietnam era Purple Heart recipient working at the wing. It is even more surprising to hear that the combat veteran is actually a C-130 Hercules deployed from Ramstein Air Base, Germany. On the flight deck of aircraft 63-7865 is a plaque telling the story of one of the hardest working aircraft in the Air Force inventory. According to the certificate, on June 1, 1972, the aircraft was assigned to the 21st Tactical...

7/13/2006 - SOUTHWEST ASIA (AFPN) -- A C-130 Hercules crew assigned to the 738th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron provided critical support to an Army operating location in Afghanistan on July 6 by airdropping essential supplies before a potential enemy attack. Aircraft commander Capt. Travis Sjostedt and his crew just completed their last sortie during their 30-day forward deployment to Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan. But as the crew was preparing the aircraft to return to its main operating base, leaders at Bagram received a message from the theater's combined air operations center that a forward operating base in Afghanistan was short of...

6/29/2006 - ROBINS AIR FORCE BASE, Ga. (AFPN) -- The beginning of an era for Robins Air Force Base and the warfighters of Air Force Special Operations Command was marked June 28 as the first-of-its-kind MC-130W was presented to Lt. Gen. Michael W. Wooley, AFSOC commander, in a ceremony here. "A lot of work went into this aircraft," said Maj. Gen. Michael A. Collings, Warner Robins Air Logistics Center commander. "Sweat, hard work and brains brought about this large initiative in support of the global war on terror. My challenge is that the need for these aircraft is today, and...

6/27/2006 - BAGRAM AIR BASE, Afghanistan (AFPN) -- The U.S. military has turned to an old workhorse as the delivery method for supplies and humanitarian cargo needed to sustain Operation Enduring Freedom. The C-130 Hercules has been around, in one form or another, since the 1950s. It is the aircraft of choice for inter-theater airlift in Afghanistan, where the U.S. Army is conducting operations from areas located on some of the toughest terrain on the planet. The last time "Herc" crews flew combat airdrops at this level was the Vietnam War. "It's the perfect tool to use in this theater,"...

IAF chief procurement officer: F35 will replace F16 The Israel Air Force plans is to buy over 100 Lockheed Martin F35s, costing at least $5 billion. Amnon Barzilai 21 Jun 06 10:15 The Israel Air Force (IAF) is completing its plan to replace its fleet of combat jets, transport planes, and helicopters, ahead of the IDF headquarters workshop for the formulation of its Keshet five-year plan. In an exclusive interview, IAF chief procurement officer Brig.-Gen. Zeev Snir told “Globes” that the key part of the plan was to procure the next-generation US combat jet, the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. Snir...

4/14/2006 - SOUTHWEST ASIA (AFPN) -- No one wishes for an aircraft to break -- especially flying crew chiefs. But, that’s when the mobile C-130 Hercules maintainers receive the most attention -- when something is wrong with the plane and they are far away from home. “Fortunately, C-130s are extremely reliable,” said Senior Master Sgt. Edward Rife, production supervisor for the 379th Expeditionary Maintenance Squadron. “They seldom break to the point where the aircraft can’t return to base. But, if that happens, the flying crew chiefs come to the rescue.” Sergeant Rife said most of the C-130s used in Southwest...

Downtown turns war zone Friday, March 10, 2006 By NADIA MOHANDESSI About 60 Air Force personnel flooded lower Dauphin Street and the surrounding area Thursday night in mock combat battles that looked a little more like a scene from West Side Story than one from downtown Baghdad. With less singing and dancing, of course. The U.S. Air Force Weapons School's 14th Weapons Squadron, based out of Hurlburt Field, Fla., staged simulated combat scenes beginning shortly before 8 p.m. Thursday near Bienville and Cathedral squares to show personnel flying an AC-130 Gunship aircraft what different urban combat scenarios looked like from...

AN AIR BASE IN IRAQ - The U.S. Air Force has begun moving heavily armed AC-130 airplanes — the lethal "flying gunships" of the Vietnam War — to a base in Iraq as commanders search for new tools to counter the Iraqi resistance, The Associated Press has learned. An AP reporter saw the first of the turboprop-driven aircraft after it landed at the airfield this week. Four are expected. The Iraq-based special forces command controlling the AC-130s, the Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force, said it would have no comment on the deployment. But the plan's general outline was confirmed...

WHAT A PICTURE - AT OVER TWO MILES AWAY!!Here is what  technology can do in a war zone. The pictures were taken from an  AC130 Specter gunship two and a half miles away.The guys in the picture are setting up a roadside bomb and planning to ambush an American convoy which followed a short while after the pictures were taken. They were setting up for the ambush and were pacing off the distance from the bomb to where the convoy was to pass by.Turn your sound up. http://lvlranch.com/images/iraqiinsurgents-takeout.wmv

New weapon could mean the end of collateral damage The U.S. military has been developing a gunship that could literally obliterate enemy ground targets with a laser beam. The military plans to test the Advanced Tactical Laser, a laser weapon mounted on a C-130H air transport that could destroy any weapon system without collateral damage. The laser could have tremendous repercussions on the battlefield, particularly in urban warfare in such countries as Afghanistan and Iraq. "It's the kind of tool that could bring about victory within minutes," an official said. The applications of ATL could change military dynamics on the...

This is remarkable film footage. This is a night vision movie from Iraq, showing live action against Iraqi insurgents. The pictures were taken from an AC-130 Specter gunship two and a half miles from the target. The guys in the picture are setting up a roadside bomb and planning to ambush an American convoy which followed a short while after the pictures were taken. They were setting up the ambush and were pacing off the distance from the bomb to where the convoy was to pass by. Turn your sound up. The level of effort these Specter crews put forth...

1/3/2006 - SOUTHWEST ASIA (AFPN) -- People around the globe welcomed 2006 with a variety of New Year’s Eve celebrations. High above Iraq, a Reserve C-130 Hercules aircrew headed for Balad Air Base, celebrated in a different way -- flying another mission in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. With the drone of the aircraft’s four propellers in the background, Senior Master Sgt. Ernie Leyba attached his night vision gear to his flight helmet. It was nearly pitch black on the flight deck, except for the pale green glow of the instrument lights. But it didn’t stop the flight engineer. Since...