Security Death From Above: The Air Force’s Fearsome AC-130 Gunship Is Getting Upgrades Key Point: Once the gunship is upgraded, the AC-130 will become an integral part of U.S. overseas operations.

The AC-130 was first converted from a cargo heavyweight to a powerhouse of a gunship by North American Rockwell in 1987. Its origins took a toll in terms of its agility, one of the major ...

But a derivative of the C-130, the AC-130 gunship, is a deceptively lethal ground-attack aircraft that has served with the U.S. Air Force since the 1960s.