Tunner Award for the mission.ДЄC-130s also had a primary role during Operation Just Cause in Panama in 1989 when they destroyed Panamanian Defense Force Headquarters and numerous command and control facilities. During Operation Urgent Fury in Grenada in 1983, AC-130s suppressed enemy air defense systems and attacked ground forces enabling the successful assault of the Point Salines Airfield via airdrop and air land of friendly forces.

Gunships destroyed more than 10,000 trucks and were credited with many life-saving close air support missions. The AC-130 gunship has a combat history dating to Vietnam. The U-model is the third generation of C-130 gunships. The AC-130H's call sign is 'Spectre.' The AC-130U's call sign is 'Spooky,' and traces its history to the first operational gunship, the AC-47. It also has twice the munitions capacity of the AC-130H. The AC-130U employs the latest technologies and can attack two targets simultaneously. The gunship's navigational devices include the inertial navigation systems and global positioning system. The AC-130U employs synthetic apertures strike radar for long-range target detection and identification. These sensors allow the gunship to visually or electronically identify friendly ground forces and targets any place, any time. The sensor suite consists of a television sensor, infrared sensor and radar.

These heavily armed aircraft incorporate 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. Force protection missions include air base defense and facilities defense. Air interdiction missions are conducted against preplanned targets or targets of opportunity. Missions in close air support are troops in contact, convoy escort and urban operations. The AC-130 gunship's primary missions are close air support, air interdiction and force protection.

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