U.S. Air Force AC-130W Stinger II Mission Over Syria

A U.S. Air Force AC-130W Stinger II, from the 16th Expeditionary Special Operations Squadron (16th ESOS), launch to provide close air support for the Syrian Democratic Forces in Syria on July 23, 2018. The 16th ESOS is responsible for conducting close air support for special operations ground forces. The AC-130W Stinger II is a modified C-130H with upgrades including a precision strike package. The precision strike packages consist of a 30 mm gun and several precision guided munitions (PGMs). Rails are mounted on the out-board pylon of the wing for four Hellfire missiles, SDBs, or SDB IIs under each. 10 Common Launch Tubes (CLTs) are mounted on the rear ramp to fire Griffin A missiles and additional missiles are stored in the aircraft that can be reloaded in flight. CLTs are able to fire other small munitions able to fit inside the 6 inch diameter, 48 inch long tubes. On this mission, you are not going to get to see a bunch of killing. The U.S. Armed Forces does not show that anymore. Although they are the best at it. Film Credits: U.S. Air Force Video by Senior Airman James Merriman