U.S. Special Operations Command and the Air Force's 96th Test Wing completed the first flight of the specially modified AC-130J next-generation gunship on Jan. 31, with more complex tests set to begin this spring. Col. Michael Schmidt, the command's program executive officer for fixed-wing aircraft, said in a Feb. 7 email provided by a SOCOM spokeswoman that the gunship, known as the Ghostrider, flew for more than three hours on the last day of January. Performance was deemed to be...
