The 30mm cannon in particular "almost like a sniper rifle. ... It's that precise, it can pretty much hit first shot, first kill," then-1st SOW commander Col. Tom Palenske told Millitary.com back in 2017, adding that the Ghostrider is "going to [be] the most lethal, with the most loiter time, probably the most requested weapons system from ground forces in the history of warfare."Brace yourselves: the Air Force's newest gunship is officially on the prowl downrange.The AC-130J Ghostrider gunship flew its first combat mission in
Afghanistan in late June, deploying to relieve the AC-130U Spooky aircraft following the latter's final combat sorties, an Air Force Special Operations Command spokesman confirmed to The War Zone on Wednesday.According to the Northwest
Florida Daily News, which first reported the news of the combat deployment, the mission took place "just days before" the June 28 change of command ceremony for new AFSOC commander Air Force Lt. Gen. James Slife at Hurlburt Field in Florida.This first appeared in Task and Purpose here.