BRIEF

AC-130s Hit Qala-i Jangi

The two aircraft that stuck Taliban positions inside Qala-I Jangi on the night of November 26 and early morning hours of November 27 were AC-130s of the 16th Special Operations Wing, based in Hurlburt Field, Florida.  
 
The AC-130 is an aircraft whose direct lineage dates back to the Vietnam War, and the AC-47, a cargo plane sporting 3 7.62 mm miniguns.  Night-vision imagery was in its infancy then, and the AC-47 had to rely on air-dropped flares to illuminate targets in low-light situations.  From a wide left-hand orbit, the AC-47 could pour thousands of rounds into a target area in seconds.
 
 The AC-130 represents several decades' worth of evolution on principles and military necessity that spawned the AC-47.  The latest version of the AC-130, the AC-130U is equipped with a state-of-the-art sensor array that includes All Light-Level Television (ALLTV), Forward-Looking Infra-Red (FLIR), and a targeting radar system.  One of the most complex weapon systems in the world, the AC-130U's mission computers contain over 609,000 lines of code, and its fire control system is capable simultaneously engaging two separate targets up to one kilometer apart from each other.  
 
Along with its powerful sensor array, the AC-130U carries a 25mm gatling-style cannon capable of firing 1800 rounds of ammunition, a rapid-fire 40-mm Bofors cannon, and a 105mm howitzer.  Any of these weapons can be slaved to the aircraft's sensor array, which affords the crew great flexibility as it engages targets.  Additionally, the AC-130 carries a robust electronic warfare suite to protect it from enemy air defense systems.  
 
For all of its offensive power, however, the AC-130 remains a large, slow-moving target, and has proven vulnerable to ground fire, especially during daylight hours.  The loss of an AC-130 during Operations Desert Storm resulted in strict orders that AC-130s were not to operate during the day under any circumstances.  That order, which prevented the AC-130s from intervening in Qala Jangi earlier on the 26th or after dawn on the 27th, would be a factor in Operation Anaconda several months later as well.

Additional Afghanistan Material by CFR:

For an inside look at reporting the uprising at Qala Jangi see CFR’s feature length documentary Fog and Friction. CFR Director Dodge Billingsley and TIME Magazine’s Alex Perry were there as the battle unfolded, trying to make sense of this watershed event in the war for Afghanistan.

Qala-i Jangi Satellite Imagery

Spann Interrogates John Walker at Qala-i Jangi Transcript

Suicide Attacks in Afghanistan