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| number built = MC-130E: 18<ref name="thig461"/> <br />MC-130H: 24<ref name="thig461"/> <br />MC-130P: 28<ref name="Gallery of USAF Weapons">{{cite journal |date=May 2008 |title=Gallery of USAF Weapons|journal=Air Force Magazine|publisher=Air Force Association|page= 145}}.</ref> <br />MC-130W: 12<ref name="tsj">{{cite web |last=Putrich |first=Gayle S. |url=http://www.tsjonline.com/story.php?F=3866026 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110717111717/http://www.tsjonline.com/story.php?F=3866026 |url-status=dead |archive-date=17 July 2011 |title=ARINC Flightsafety on U.S. Air Force Combat Spear Trainer |work=Training & Simulation Journal |access-date=8 March 2009}}</ref><br />MC-130J:
| unit cost = MC-130E $75 million<ref name="fact"/> <br />MC-130H $155 million<ref name="fact"/> <br />MC-130W $60 million<ref name="stinger2"/> <br />MC-130J $67.3 million<ref name="CombatShadowII"/>
| developed from = [[C-130 Hercules]] <br />[[C-130J Super Hercules]]
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The Combat Spear was developed in 2006 as an inexpensive version of the Combat Talon II but was reconfigured and designated the [[Lockheed AC-130|AC-130W Stinger II]] in 2012.
The MC-130J, which became operational in 2011, is the new-production variant that is replacing the other special operations MC-130s.<ref name="newmc">[http://www.airforce-magazine.com/MagazineArchive/Pages/2009/December%202009/1209world.aspx "First HC/MC-130J Assembled"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110723225943/http://www.airforce-magazine.com/MagazineArchive/Pages/2009/December%202009/1209world.aspx |date=23 July 2011 }}, ''Air Force Magazine'' December 2009. Air Force Association. Retrieved 4 December 2009.</ref> As of
==MC-130E Combat Talon==
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Three MC-130H Combat Talon IIs of the 7th SOS were deployed in December 1995 to deliver peacekeeping forces to [[Tuzla]] and [[Sarajevo]], [[Bosnia and Herzegovina]], as part of ''[[Operation Joint Endeavor]]'', during which one Talon was hit by ground fire.<ref>Thigpen (2001), pp. 414, 419.</ref> The first combat deployment of a Combat Talon II was on 8 April 1996, during ''Operation Assured Response''. Special operations forces were deployed to [[Liberia]] to assist in the evacuation of 2000 civilians from the American embassy when the country broke down into [[First Liberian Civil War|civil war]]. However orders to combat drop an 18-man SEAL team off [[Monrovia]] were rescinded and the mission landed in [[Sierra Leone]].<ref>Thigpen (2001), p. 420.</ref> Similar circumstances brought the Combat Talon II to [[Zaire]] in 1997.
Talon II deployments for joint exercises in 1997 included Australia, Guam, Indonesia, South Korea, and Thailand. In July 1997, three Talon IIs deployed to [[Thailand]] as part of ''Operation Bevel Edge'', a proposed rescue of 1000 American citizens trapped in [[Phnom Penh]], [[Cambodia]], by a [[Modern Cambodia#Recent developments|possible civil war]]{{Broken anchor|date=2024-08-03|bot=User:Cewbot/log/20201008/configuration|target_link=Modern Cambodia#Recent developments|reason= The anchor (Recent developments) [[Special:Diff/511368828|has been deleted]].}}, but the crisis ended when the Cambodian government allowed all non-citizens who desired so to leave by commercial air.<ref>Thigpen (2001), p. 429.</ref> A 7th SOS Combat Talon II aircrew, ''Whiskey 05'', earned the [[Mackay Trophy]] for an embassy evacuation mission in the [[Republic of the Congo]] in June 1997. The crew rescued thirty Americans and twenty-six foreign nationals, and logged twenty-one hours of flight time.<ref>{{cite web |last=Schilter-Lowe |first=Merrie |title=Combat Talon II crew receives Mackay Trophy |work=Air Force Special Operations Command Public Affairs |publisher=Air Force News Service |date=27 May 1998 |url=http://www.fas.org/irp/news/1998/05/n19980527_980729.html |access-date=10 December 2006 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061230154939/http://www.fas.org/irp/news/1998/05/n19980527_980729.html |archive-date=30 December 2006 }}</ref>
Full Operational Capability for the Talon II was reached in February 2000. At that time 24 MC-130Hs were deployed to four squadrons:
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=== MC-130H Retirement ===
On April 2, 2023, the United States Air Force retired its last MC-130H Combat Talon II, tail number 89-0280, after delivering the aircraft to the "Boneyard" at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Arizona.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Leone |first=Dario |date=2023-04-07 |title=USAF retires its last MC-130H Combat Talon II, #89-0280, after delivering the aircraft to the
The MC-130H was a special operations aircraft that had been in service for more than three decades, performing a variety of missions including infiltration, exfiltration, resupply of special operations forces and equipment, and air refueling operations. The aircraft had played a vital role in AFSOC operations since its arrival in Hurlburt Field in 1992. Its highlights included evacuations of non-combatant Americans and other civilians from conflicts in Liberia in 1996 and the Republic of Congo in 1997. It also participated in combat operations in the Balkans during Operation Allied Force and was used extensively in combat and humanitarian operations worldwide, including operations Enduring Freedom and Inherent Resolve, Resolute Support, Tomodachi in Japan, Unified Response in Haiti, and Sahayogi Haat in Nepal.
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In September 2010, the Air Force awarded a $61 million contract to [[L-3 Communications]] to give a gunship-like attack capability to eight MC-130W Combat Spear special-mission aircraft. Under the deal, L-3 added the weapons kits, called "precision strike packages". MC-130Ws fitted with the weapons were renamed ''Dragon Spears''. Air Force Special Operations Command eventually converted all 12 MC-130W aircraft to Dragon Spears.
The Dragon Spears were equipped with a [[Bushmaster II]] GAU-23/A 30mm gun (an improved version of the MK44 MOD0 30mm gun), sensors, communications systems,<ref>{{cite web|title=Socom Refines AC-130J Gunship Plans|url=http://www.aviationweek.com/aw/generic/story_generic.jsp?channel=defense&id=news/awst/2010/03/22/AW_03_22_2010_p30-213277.xml&headline=Socom%20Refines%20AC-130J%20Gunship%20Plans|work=Aviation Week}}{{Dead link|date=August 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> and the Gunslinger [[precision-guided munition]]s system: a launch tube designed to fire up to 10 [[GBU-44/B Viper Strike]] or [[AGM-176 Griffin]] small standoff munitions in quick succession.<ref name="PGB">Hambling, David. [https://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2009/06/spec-ops-shops-for-10-pack-of-precision-glide-bombs/#Replay "Spec Ops Shops for 10-pack of precision guided bombs"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140328234949/http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2009/06/spec-ops-shops-for-10-pack-of-precision-glide-bombs/ |date=28 March 2014 }}. WIRED, 25 June 2009. Retrieved 2 October 2009.</ref><ref name="Socom seeks $200 Million reprogramming for MC-130W gunship mods">Reed, John. ''Inside The Air Force'', 17 July 2009. Retrieved 2 October 2009.</ref> Initial supplemental funds to the 2010 Defense Authorization Bill were for two kits to be installed in 2010.<ref>Maze, Rick. [http://www.navytimes.com/news/2009/06/military_armedservices_authorizationbill_061109w/# "Panel adds $308 million to spec ops budget"] ''Navy Times'', 11 June 2009. Retrieved 2 October 2009.</ref>
The MC-130W Dragon Spear went from concept to flying with a minimum capability in less than 90 days, and from concept to deployment in 18 months.<ref>[http://webarchive.loc.gov/all/20170704074654/http://www.defensenews.com/story.php?i=5651904&c=SEA&s=TOP SOCOM Moved Quickly To Create Daytime Gunship] Marcus Weisgerber: 8 February 2011</ref> Its success won its program the William J. Perry Award, and it became the model for the [[AC-130J]] gunship program.<ref>Duncan, Capt. Kristen D. [http://www.afsoc.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123244936 "Benchmark 'Dragon Spear' program earns William J. Perry Award"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111004081123/http://www.afsoc.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123244936 |date=4 October 2011 }}. ''Air Force Special Operations Command Public Affairs''</ref>
The first partially converted MC-130W arrived in Afghanistan in late 2010. It fired its first weapon one month after arriving, killing five
==MC-130J Commando II==
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Production of the first MC-130J aircraft was started at [[Lockheed Martin]]’s facility in Marietta, Georgia, on 5 October 2009. Lockheed Martin also contracted to build an HC-130J tanker variant for Air Force Special Operations Command on its standard [[C-130J]] production line. The MC-130J is the first C-130 specifically built for special operations, making it lighter and more efficient. Most special operations aircraft are modified after production to accommodate special operations missions.<ref name="rollout" /> The MC-130J was initially called the Combat Shadow II to honor the service of the aging MC-130P platform that it was replacing but was officially named the Commando II in March 2012.<ref name=CombatShadowII>{{cite web|title=Factsheet MC-130J Commando II|url=http://www.af.mil/AboutUs/FactSheets/Display/tabid/224/Article/104510/mc-130j-commando-ii.aspx|publisher=Air Force.mil|access-date=6 April 2016|date=15 September 2011|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304090221/http://www.af.mil/AboutUs/FactSheets/Display/tabid/224/Article/104510/mc-130j-commando-ii.aspx|archive-date=4 March 2016}}</ref>
The [[Air Force Special Operations Training Center]] conducted the initial MC-130J training program in conjunction with the [[Pennsylvania Air National Guard]]'s [[193rd Special Operations Wing]], using its four
The [[522nd Special Operations Squadron]] was the first unit to operate the MC-130J Commando II,<ref>[http://www.cannon.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123250842 "522 SOS Fireballs return to Cannon"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110724183706/http://www.cannon.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123250842 |date=24 July 2011 }} By Airman 1st Class Jette Carr, 27th Special Operations Wing Public Affairs, 8 April 2011</ref> and achieved Initial Operational Capability in 2012. The first MC-130J, AF Ser. No. 09-6207, undertook its initial test flight on 22 April 2011.<ref>[http://www.lockheedmartin.com/news/press_releases/2011/110422ae_new-c130-shadow.html "A New C-130 Shadow in the Sky"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110425150007/http://www.lockheedmartin.com/news/press_releases/2011/110422ae_new-c130-shadow.html |date=25 April 2011 }} ''Lockheed Martin'' 22 April 2011</ref> The [[522nd Special Operations Squadron]] received its first MC-130J in late September 2011.<ref>[http://www.cannon.af.mil/News/ArticleDisplay/tabid/4947/Article/207360/afsocs-first-mc-130j-combat-shadow-ii-arrives-at-cannon.aspx "AFSOC's First MC-130J Combat Shadow II arrives at Cannon AFB"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160422140823/http://www.cannon.af.mil/News/ArticleDisplay/tabid/4947/Article/207360/afsocs-first-mc-130j-combat-shadow-ii-arrives-at-cannon.aspx |date=22 April 2016 }} retrieved 6 April 2016</ref>
A total of 37 MC-130J aircraft are programmed to replace all other MC-130 variants by the end of the fiscal year 2017. MC-130Js completely replaced Combat Talons at [[RAF Mildenhall]] in 2014 and began replacing those at [[Kadena AB]] in 2015. 20 were in service in FY 2015 with seven additional airframes in production.<ref name="afm2015almanac">{{cite journal|last=Church|first=Aaron |date=May 2016 |title=2016 USAF Almanac: Gallery of USAF Weapons|journal=Air Force Magazine |volume=99 |issue=5| page=76}}</ref> On 26 October 2019, MC-130J Commando II special mission aircraft accompanied [[Joint Special Operations Command]] [[160th SOAR]] MH-60 and MH-47s, which carried 1st SFOD-D and 75th Ranger RRC operators, into Idlib province during the [[Barisha raid]].
As part of AFSOC’s multimission fleet consolidation the MC-130J Commando II is replacing both [[Lockheed EC-130|EC-130J Commando Solo and Super-J]].
==Operational losses==
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Two of the four aircraft assigned to Project ''Stray Goose'' were lost in combat: 64-0563 was destroyed on 25 November 1967, by a direct hit of a mortar round while parked on the Nha Trang flightline. The aircraft had been scheduled for a mission and had just completed preflight of the exterior when the mission was cancelled. Soon after the crew left the ramp, the aircraft was hit and destroyed by fire.<ref name="ct89">Thigpen (2001), p. 89.</ref>
64-0547 was [[Missing in action|missing-in-action]] with its entire 11-man crew on 29 December 1967, on a mission to drop leaflets inside North Vietnam. The Blackbird had completed its leaflet drop leg of the mission at {{convert|30000|ft|abbr=on}} and begun its descent to its terrain-following exit altitude. Communication was lost without the Blackbird reporting any threats detected. SOF commanders at the time discounted the possibility of its being shot down because the flight, conducted by an inexperienced aircraft commander under new moon conditions, was not claimed as such by North Vietnam. In November 1992, the wreckage was located near the peak of a mountain {{convert|32|mi|abbr=on}} northeast of [[Dien Bien Phu]], and it was surmised that its descent was too steep for its TF/TA radar to stabilize. 64-0547 was the only special operations MC-130 lost on a combat mission over hostile terrain in the history of the program.<ref name="ct90">Thigpen (2001), p. 90–101.</ref>
64-0558 was lost in a mid-air collision during a night training exercise 15 miles north of [[Conway, South Carolina]] on 5 December 1972. An [[F-102 Delta Dagger]] of the [[South Carolina Air National Guard]], attempting a night intercept of the Talon, flew into the fuel [[drop tank]] on its right wing, with the loss of both aircraft, killing all 12 aboard the C-130E(I). 64-0558 had been one of the two Talons assigned to the Son Tay POW camp rescue mission.<ref>Thigpen (2001), p. 70. The F-102 was AF Ser. No. 56-1517 of the SCANG's [[157th Fighter Squadron|157th Fighter Interceptor Squadron]].</ref>
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Combat Talon II 90-0161, also of the 15th SOS, crashed into Monte Perucho, south of [[Caguas, Puerto Rico]], during a training mission on 7 August 2002, killing all ten aboard. The Talon was flying a terrain-following night mission in blowing rain and fog, along a low level route commonly used by the [[Puerto Rico Air National Guard]]. The crew misinterpreted and disregarded terrain obstacle warnings.<ref name="crash3">{{cite web| url =http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=20020807-0| title =C-130 loss 7 Aug 2002| publisher =Air Safety Network| access-date =9 March 2009| url-status =live| archive-url =http://archive.wikiwix.com/cache/20110808100022/http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=20020807-0| archive-date =8 August 2011}}</ref>
Combat Talon II 85-0012 was severely damaged during a landing accident at [[Qayyarah-West Air Base]], south of [[Mosul]], [[Iraq]], on 29 December 2004. The 15th SOS aircraft was on a resupply mission and struck
A Combat Talon II of the 7th SOS, 87-0127 (''Wrath 11''), crashed during a terrain-following-and-avoidance night training exercise on 31 March 2005, near [[Moglicë|Rovie]], in the Drizez Mountains in southeast [[Albania]], 60 miles southeast of [[Tirana]]. The Talon had taken off from [[Tirana-Rinas Airport]] 20 minutes before and was one of two flying at {{convert|300|ft|abbr=on}} AGL at a reduced power setting. An investigation revealed that the plane stalled attempting to clear terrain following the crew's "loss of situational awareness." All nine crew members aboard were killed.<ref>{{cite web| url =http://www.af.mil/News/ArticleDisplay/tabid/223/Article/134143/officials-release-albania-accident-report.aspx| title =Officials release Albania accident report| publisher =[[United States Air Force]]| date =21 June 2005| access-date =9 June 2016| url-status =live| archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20160807195418/http://www.af.mil/News/ArticleDisplay/tabid/223/Article/134143/officials-release-albania-accident-report.aspx| archive-date =7 August 2016}}</ref><ref name="crash5">{{cite web| url =http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=20050331-0| title =C-130 loss 31 Mar 2005| publisher =Air Safety Network| access-date =9 March 2009| url-status =live| archive-url =http://archive.wikiwix.com/cache/20110808100026/http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=20050331-0| archive-date =8 August 2011}}</ref>
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