[RYAN ROBERTSON]

THE U.S. MILITARY IS GETTING PRETTY GOOD AT LANDING BIG PLANES IN WHAT YOU MIGHT CALL ‘NON-TRADITIONAL LOCATIONS.’

THIS IS VIDEO OF AN AIR FORCE AC-130J GHOSTRIDER LANDING ON A REMOTE STRETCH OF HIGHWAY-63 NEAR BONO, ARKANSAS.

I HAVEN’T BEEN THIS EXCITED TO TALK ABOUT A GHOSTRIDER IN RURAL AMERICA SINCE JOHNNY BLAZE TOOK TO THE BADLANDS.

THAT’S NOT TRUE. I DIDN’T EVEN KNOW THEY MADE A SECOND ONE OF THOSE MOVIES UNTIL I STARTED WRITING THIS SCRIPT. JUST A TERRIBLE FRANCHISE.

BUT! I AM EXCITED TO TELL YOU ABOUT THE AC-130J LANDING IN ARKANSAS.
HERE’S WHY: FOR ONE, IT’S THE FIRST TIME IT’S HAPPENED. ACCORDING TO THE AIR FORCE SPECIAL OPERATIONS COMMAND, OR AFSOC, THE OPERATION WAS PART OF THE BROADER EMERALD WARRIOR FIELD TRAINING EXERCISE II, WHICH IS ALL ABOUT SHOWCASING AFSOC’s CAPABILITIES WHEN IT COMES TO AGILE COMBAT EMPLOYMENT, OR ACE.

I KNOW, IT’S A LOT OF ACRONYMS. BUT ACE IS BASICALLY THE MENTALITY THE AIR FORCE IS APPLYING TO ITS COMBAT OPERATIONS NOW AS IT PREPARES FOR A POTENTIAL CONFLICT WITH CHINA IN THE PACIFIC; DON’T PUT EVERYTHING IN A HANDFUL OF LOCATIONS, SPREAD STUFF OUT, AND DEVELOP A HUB/SPOKE PATTERN OF SUPPLY LINES.

BECAUSE IF A KINETIC WAR KICKS-OFF IN THE PACIFIC, MEANING ONE WITH BULLETS AND BOMBS, BASES AND TRADITIONAL RUNWAYS WILL BE PRIME TARGETS.

SO, THE AIR FORCE IS LOOKING FOR EVERY AVAILABLE STRETCH OF ROAD, HIGHWAY, OR HARDENED TRACK LONG ENOUGH AND STRAIGHT ENOUGH TO LAND AN AIRCRAFT. BE IT A DRONE, JET FIGHTER, TANK BUSTER, AIR TANKER, OR FIFTH GENERATION AIR FORCE GUNSHIP.

THE AC-130J GHOSTRIDER IS THE LATEST VARIANT OF THE AIR FORCE’S CLOSE AIR SUPPORT GUN SHIP. IT’S ARMED WITH A 30MM AUTO-CANNON AND AN IMPROVED 105 MM HOWITZER. BOTH OF WHICH WERE FEATURED DURING THE RECENT RIMPAC 2024 SINKEX EXERCISES.

AND THIS VIDEO IS A GREAT DEMONSTRATION OF WHAT AC-130s WERE ABLE TO DO SO WELL IN IRAQ AND AFGHANISTAN, WHICH IS QUICKLY PUTTING SHOTS ON TARGET WITH PRECISION, AND WITHOUT BREAKING THE BANK. HELPFUL IF YOU WANT TO MAYBE DISABLE A SHIP, BUT NOT DESTROY IT.

BUT EVEN IN IRAQ AND AFGHANISTAN, AC-130s USUALLY ONLY FLEW AT NIGHT SO THEY COULD LIMIT EXPOSURE TO ENEMY ATTACK. IN THE WIDE OPEN BATTLE-SPACE OF THE INDOPACIFIC,GHOSTRIDERS NEED TO ADAPT TO STAY RELEVANT.
CHINA KNOWS WHERE AMERICA’S RUNWAYS IN THE REGION ARE, AND CHINA’S AIR DEFENSES WILL BE ORDERS OF MAGNITUDE BETTER THAN THE TALIBAN’S.

WHICH BRINGS US BACK TO EMERALD WARRIOR. DURING THE EXERCISE, AFSOC SIMULATED WHAT CREWS WOULD SEE IN THE PACIFIC; AN ADVANCED TEAM LANDED SUPPORT AIRCRAFT ON A RURAL FIVE-LANE HIGHWAY, SECURED THE AREA, AND SET UP A FORWARD ARMING AND REFUELING POINT.
ONCE THAT FARP WAS OPERATIONAL, THE GHOSTRIDER COULD SAFELY LAND, REFUEL, REARM, AND RE-ENGAGE IN THE BATTLE. ALL IN A RELATIVELY SHORT PERIOD OF TIME.

THE COMMANDER OF THE 1ST SPECIAL OPERATIONS WING SAYS THE EXERCISE PROVED AFSOC IS READY TO MEET THE ENEMY ANYTIME, ANY PLACE, AND WITHOUT TRADITIONAL RUNWAYS.

IT’S ALSO PROOF THE GHOSTRIDER COULD SEE SOME NEW, OR AT LEAST EXPANDED ROLES IN THE PACIFIC. NOW THAT GHOSTRIDERS DON’T NEED TO RETURN TO A TRADITIONAL BASE TO RE-UP ON FUEL, AND MAYBE MORE IMPORTANTLY AMMO, THEY CAN SPEND MORE TIME ON TARGET AND THROW SOME OF THE OTHER, LONGER-RANGE MUNITIONS THE GHOSTRIDER CAN NOW CARRY DOWNRANGE. THINGS LIKE LASER GUIDED BOMBS AND SMALLER CRUISE MISSILES.

SO, WHILE IT MAY NOT BE A TRANSFORMATION ON THE SAME LEVEL AS A NICOLAS CAGE PERFORMANCE, GIVING THE GHOSTRIDER MORE PLACES FROM WHICH TO OPERATE MAKES THE LARGE PLANE THAT MUCH MORE NIMBLE, WHICH IS NECESSARY IN NEAR-PEER COMPETITION.

I’M RYAN ROBERTSON AND FOR MORE OF MY REPORTING ON CHINA, THE US AND THE INDOPACIFIC BE SURE TO DOWNLOAD THE STRAIGHT ARROW NEWS APP TODAY
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