From the AC-130U Spooky gunship 25mm Gatling-type rotary cannon gunner’s point of view during live firing in Korea

Published on: September 20, 2012 at 1:30 PM

Although not exactly from the gunner’s point of view, the following picture, taken over the Republic of Korea on Sept. 12, 2012, gives an idea of what firing down on a range with the AC-130U Spooky’s 25mm Gatling-type rotary cannon looks like.

Two AC-130U gunships, similar to those that were monitored as they deployed to the Mediterranean area in response to the Benghazi consulate attack, took part to Teak Knife 12-3, an exercise whose goal is to enhance the combat readiness of U.S. and Republic of Korea Special Operations and support forces through combined and joint live-fire training.

The gunship conducted live-fire close-air-support training at Pilsung Range.

Image credit: U.S. Air Force

Air strikes conducted from the AC-130s along with those from the A-10s and F-16s of the 51st Fighter Wing from Osan, were controlled by RoK Special Warfare Command Special Operations Teams from around the Korean peninsula.

During Teak Knife, U.S. and RoK forces practiced  advanced joint terminal control attack operations during atypical close air support missions that included “specialized techniques, tactics and procedures associated with radioing in targets, striking adversaries with various munitions, targeting enemy threat capabilities, teaching allied aircraft capabilities and practicing horizontal and vertical aircraft deconfliction measures.”

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David Cenciotti is a journalist based in Rome, Italy. He is the Founder and Editor of “The Aviationist”, one of the world’s most famous and read military aviation blogs. Since 1996, he has written for major worldwide magazines, including Air Forces Monthly, Combat Aircraft, and many others, covering aviation, defense, war, industry, intelligence, crime and cyberwar. He has reported from the U.S., Europe, Australia and Syria, and flown several combat planes with different air forces. He is a former 2nd Lt. of the Italian Air Force, a private pilot and a graduate in Computer Engineering. He has written five books and contributed to many more ones.
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