EC-130 Commando Solo Fact Sheet
Service:
Air Force/Air National Guard (ANG)
Primary Function: Psychological
Operations (PSYOP) broadcasts
Builder: Lockheed
Date of Manufacture: 1963
Power Plant: Four Allison
T56-A-15 Turboprop Engines
Thrust: 4.910 shaft horsepower
per engine
Length: 100 ft 6 in (30.9
meters)
Height: 38 ft 6 in (11.7 meters)
Wingspan: 132 ft 7 in (40.4
meters)
Speed: 299 mph
Ceiling: 20,000 ft
Maximum Takeoff Weight: 155,000
lbs (70,455 kg)
Range: 2,100 miles (3,380
km)
Crew: Four officers (pilot,
copilot, navigator, mission control chief/EWO); seven
enlisted (flight engineer, loadmaster, five mission
crew)
IOC: 1992
Unit Flyaway Cost: More than
$70 million
Air Force Mission: Commando
Solo conducts psychological operations and civil affairs
broadcast missions in the standard AM, FM, HF, TV, and
military communications bands. Missions are flown at maximum
altitudes possible to ensure optimum propagation patterns.
The EC-130 flies during either day or night scenarios
with equal success, and is air refuelable. A typical mission
consists of a single-ship orbit which is offset from the
desired target audience. The targets may be either military
or civilian personnel.
Secondary missions
include command and control communications countermeasures
(C3CM) and limited intelligence gathering.
Air Force Features:
Highly specialized modifications have been made to the
latest version of the EC-130 (Commando Solo). Included
in these modifications are enhanced navigation systems,
self-protection equipment, and the capability of broadcasting
color television on a multitude of worldwide standards
throughout the TV VHF/UHF ranges.
Air Force (ANG) Inventory:
6 - All flown by 193rd Special Operations Wing.
Air Force Background:
Air National Guard EC-130 aircraft flown by the 193rd
Special Operations Group were deployed to both Saudi
Arabia and Turkey in support of Desert Storm. Their
missions included broadcasts of "Voice of the Gulf",
and other programs intended to convince Iraqi soldiers
to surrender. Their "preparation of the battlefield"
helped to minimize both enemy and friendly casualties
by contributing to the massive Iraqi defections and
surrenders.
The EC-130 was originally
modified using the mission electronic equipment from
the EC-121 aircraft, known at the time as Coronet Solo.
Soon after the 193rd SOG received its EC-130’s, the
unit participated in the rescue of U.S. citizens in
Operation Urgent Fury in 1983, acting as an airborne
radio station informing those people on Grenada of the
U.S. military action.
Volant Solo, as the
mission was now known, was instrumental in the success
of coordinated psychological operations (PSYOP) in Operation
Just Cause in 1989, again broadcasting throughout the
initial phases of the operation to help end the Noriega
regime.
Most recently, in 1994,
Commando Solo was utilized to broadcast radio and television
messages to the citizens and leaders of Haiti during
Operation Uphold Democracy. The EC-130’s of the 193rd
deployed very early in the operation, highlighting the
importance of PSYOP in avoiding military and civilian
casualties. President Aristide himself was featured
in the broadcasts, which contributed significantly to
the orderly transition from military rule to democracy.
In 1990 the 193rd joined
the newly formed Air Force Special Operations Command
(AFSOC) and has been designated Commando Solo, with
no change in mission. This one-of-a-kind aircraft is
consistently improving its capabilities. The next few
years should see continued enhancements to the EC-130
and its worldwide missions.
(Current as of Aug
1997)
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