![]() ![]() Bright, facing an equally challenging task, crouched down in his seat in order to work the aircraft’s throttles and yoke simultaneously to maintain a fixed altitude. To compensate, Haddad had to manually control the ailerons to turn the aircraft while also firing the guns. ![]() Without the autopilot, Haddad and his co-pilot, Bright, faced a greater challenge than they had anticipated because they relied upon the autopilot’s altitude-hold function to keep the aircraft at a fixed altitude while they banked and fired the gunship’s weapons. While en route, Haddad noticed that his aircraft’s autopilot feature was not working. The road was crowded with Iraqi military vehicles exiting Kuwait and going back to Iraq.ĪC-130U “Spooky II” 1st Special Operations Wing, 4th Special Operations Squadron, 88-0163 – Hurlburt Field, FL – Profile Print by ![]() The 711th SOS was part of these operations. sending military members to Saudi Arabia as part of Operation Desert Shield/Storm. of the previous year, Iraqi soldiers had invaded Kuwait, sparking a chain of events that soon led to the U.S. Bright, – both members of the 711th Special Operations Squadron (SOS) at Duke Field, Florida – were assigned to a mission over a road connecting Kuwait City to Baghdad. Larson, Headquarters Air Force Reserve Command History Office in the article The Ghost Over the Highway: Reservists renew bond with Desert Storm AC-130A gunship, on Feb. Air Force (USAF) AC-130s performed mainly CAS and force protection (air base defense) for ground forces.Īs reported by Paul H. AI missions are conducted against preplanned targets or targets of opportunity and include strike coordination, reconnaissance, and armed overwatch mission sets.ĭuring Operation Desert Storm (ODS), U.S. CAS missions include troops in contact (TIC), convoy escort and point air defense. These sensors allow the gunship to visually or electronically identify friendly ground forces and targets anytime, anywhere.ĪC-130 primary missions are close air support (CAS), air interdiction (AI) and armed reconnaissance. The sensor suite consists of a multispectral television sensors, high definition infrared sensors, and radar. The AC-130 gunship (in its various versions) is a heavily armed aircraft incorporating side-firing weapons integrated with sophisticated sensor, navigation, and fire control systems to provide surgical firepower or area saturation during extended loiter periods, at night and in adverse weather. The stretch of road that Haddad and his crew had fired on quickly became known as the “Highway of Death” due to the enormity of the destruction caused that night ![]()
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