AC-130U that sank Iraqi patrol boat during Operation Iraqi Freedom has been retired

AC-130U, # 89-0511, was retired to the boneyard at Davis-Monthan air force base on May 8. The gunship had the honor of being “the first Air Force aircrew and aircraft to sink a maritime combat surface vessel during a war effort since World War II.”

Crew members with the 4th Special Operations Squadron pose in front of AC-130U Spooky gunship tail number 89-0511 at Hurlburt Field, Fla., May 8, 2018. It flew on its final flight to the 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group, known as the aircraft boneyard, at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Ariz., after 29 years of service. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Rachel Yates)

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USS George Washington will eventually return to Japan with the ability to operate MQ-25

The fiscal year 2019 National Defense Authorization bill has included language directing the U.S. Navy to prepare aircraft carrier USS George Washington to operate the MQ-25 during its four-year midlife refueling and overhaul in Virginia.

Flickr - Official U.S. Navy Imagery - USS George Washington is underway in the U.S. 7th Fleet area of responsibility.
By Official Navy Page from United States of America MCSN Declan Barnes/U.S. Navy [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
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