Editing Lockheed AC-130 (section)

===Gulf War and the 1990s===
[[File:USAF_AC130_Operation.ogv|thumb|right|A USAF AC-130 in combat operation]]

During the [[Gulf War]] of 1990–1991 (Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm), Regular Air Force and Air Force Reserve AC-130s provided close air support and force protection (air base defense) for ground forces, and battlefield interdiction. The primary interdiction targets were early-warning/[[Ground-controlled interception|ground-control intercept]] sites along the southern border of [[Iraq]]. At its standard altitude of {{convert|12,000|ft|abbr=on}}, the aircraft had a proven ability to engage moving ground targets.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.strategypage.com/dls/articles2005/200563005819.asp |title= Why the AC-130 Fears Daylight |access-date=7 April 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160422213958/http://strategypage.com/dls/articles2005/200563005819.asp |archive-date=22 April 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref> The first gunship to enter the [[Battle of Khafji]] helped stop a southbound Iraqi armored column on 29 January 1991. One day later, three more gunships provided further aid to [[United States Marine Corps|Marines]] participating in the operation. The gunships attacked Iraqi positions and columns moving south to reinforce their positions north of the city.

Despite the threat of SAMs and increasing visibility during the early morning hours of 31 January 1991, one AC-130H, AF Serial No. 69-6567, call-sign Spirit 03, opted to stay to continue to protect the Marines. A lone Iraqi with a [[Strela-2]] [[MANPADS]] shot Spirit 03 down, and all 14 crew members were killed.<ref>{{Citation|url=http://www.specialoperations.com/Memorial/spirit.html |type=memorial |contribution=Spirit 03 and the Battle for Khafji |title=Special operations |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081025094548/http://www.specialoperations.com/Memorial/spirit.html |archive-date=25 October 2008}}</ref> The loss of Spirit 03 did however result in the US DoD joining the development of the AN/AAQ-24 Directed Infrared Countermeasures System which, in its updated laser-based form, is now a common fit across large US military aircraft.{{citation needed|date=December 2021}}

The military has used AC-130 gunships during the humanitarian operations in [[Somalia]] ([[Unified Task Force|Operation Restore Hope]] and [[Operation United Shield]]) in 1992–93 and [[Operation Uphold Democracy]] in Haiti in 1994. AC-130s took part in [[Timeline of United States military operations#1991–1999|Operation Assured Response]] in Liberia in 1996 and in [[Operation Silver Wake]] in 1997, the evacuation of American [[non-combatants]] from [[Albania]].

AC-130s took part in the [[NATO]] missions in [[Bosnia and Herzegovina]] and [[Kosovo]] during the 1990s.

The AC-130U gunship set a new record for the longest sustained flight by any C-130 on 22 and 23 October 1997, when two AC-130U gunships flew 36 hours nonstop from Hurlburt Field to [[Taegu Air Base]] (Daegu), South Korea, being refueled seven times in the air by KC-135 tankers. The two gunships took on 410,000&nbsp;lb (186,000&nbsp;kg) of fuel. Gunships also were part of the buildup of US forces in 1998 to compel Iraq to allow [[UNSCOM]] weapons inspections.