Shadows gain first Ghostriders at Kirtland

At the end of August 2024, the first Lockheed Martin AC-130J Ghostriders flew to Kirtland AFB (NM), to be part of Air Education and Training Command's 73rd Special Operations Squadron, unofficially named 'Shadow'.

Formerly being part of Air Force Special Operations Command's 1st Special Operations Wing at Hurlburt (FL), the 73rd SOS acts now as the Ghostrider Formal Training Unit (FTU) and reports to the 58th Special Operations Wing at Kirtland.

While the 73rd SOS was 'flown out' from Hurlburt during a special ceremony at the end of May,  'Shadow' was again activated on 20 June 2024 at Kirtland. While being flown to New Mexico, the first 73rd SOS Ghostrider to touch down at Kirtland at the end of August was 17-5872.

With all AC-130Js having been delivered to the USAF since the beginning of November 2022, Scramble Magazine assesses that the USAF had to find the right time, place and opportunity to form a Ghostrider FTU. With the 73rd SOS, the USAF has found the right squadron, in the context of history and legacy, to form the FTU. Activated at Hurlburt Field, the 73rd SOS is USAF's first active AC-130J squadron formed on 23 February 2018. On 18 December 2022, Scramble Magazine first wrote about the 73rd SOS with their motto "Without Fail" being awarded for actions in and over Afghanistan.

On 23 August 2024, the USAF celebrated the C-130 Hercules's seventieth birthday. The AC-130J Ghostrider is a heavily modified fifth generation Gunship and derived from the legacy Hercules which flew its maiden flight on 23 August 1954.

Credit photo: USAF