Name: Inside the U.S. Ghostriders and Reapers Being Used to Strike Boats
Uploaded: 2025-12-24T05:00:00Z
Duration: 4 min 43 s
Description: The U.S. is dedicating serious firepower to taking out alleged drug boats around South America. Here’s how the AC-130J Ghostrider gunship and MQ-9 Reaper drone work.

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The U.S. is dedicating serious firepower to taking out alleged drug boats around South America. Here’s how the AC-130J Ghostrider gunship and MQ-9 Reaper drone work.

https://m.wsj.net/video/20251224/4e2536c7-fc2b-49b8-b032-565d5c4cb40b/3/hls/manifest-hd-wifi.m3u8

Inside the U.S. Ghostriders and Reapers Being Used to Strike Boats

Narrator: The Pentagon has been secretive about the weapons and intelligence used in its controversial strikes on alleged drug boats in South America.

It's all classified. We can't talk about it now.

Narrator: But the department's own videos show munitions and markings that offer clues about some of the platforms used to take out more than 25 boats and kill more than 100 people, numbers that are only poised to rise. Here's what we know about two of the weapons that are being used in the campaign. First, there's the Ghostrider, also known as the AC-130J gunship. These are highly modified C-130 planes made by Lockheed Martin. They're about as big as a 737, they're operated by a crew of airmen, and they're armed with some serious weaponry. Toward the front of the aircraft is a single-barrel 30 millimeter Bushmaster automatic cannon that can shoot up to 200 rounds per minute. When fired, it looks like this. Further back on the left is the biggest gun on the plane, a side-firing 105 millimeter Howitzer that can shoot different types of artillery shells. Those cause a much larger explosion. Then under the wings are hard-points that can carry four munitions per side, like GBU39s and Hellfire missiles.

Captain: Rifle away. Good hold it.

Narrator: Air Force officials say the Ghostrider's main purpose is to bring troops home. So the aircraft has historically been used to provide close air support and bomb threats that are approaching friendly troops. But in recent months, the AC-130J has been deployed to the Caribbean. And based on videos of the strikes, experts say the gunship is being used to attack alleged drug boats. For example, they say this is the gunship firing on a submersible. The long green cross hair matches that in other AC-130J videos and the rounds appear to be from the 30 millimeter autocannon. You can see them come one after the other. The strikes can also look like this. To operate the weapons, the AC-130J requires a crew of airmen. An aircraft commander and co-pilot fly the plane, a combat systems officer or a CSO and a weapons systems officer or WSO control the triggers, and four special mission aviators handle the munitions, load the guns and conduct maintenance. Each AC-130J costs about $165 million, can fly 350 miles per hour and has a range of 3000 miles, which can be extended with aerial refueling. From where it's been spotted in El Salvador and Puerto Rico, that puts the aircraft well within range of drug smuggling roots in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific. Then there are MQ-9 Reaper drones which are also deployed to the Caribbean. These drones made by General Atomics are remotely piloted aircraft that can collect intelligence and strike targets. The Reaper transports weapons under its wings and can hold up to 3,800 pounds of munitions. The hard points on the aircraft can carry all kinds of different laser and GPS guided munitions, including Hellfires, Paveways, and JDAMs. Service members load munitions by hand, sometimes with the help of a vehicle, and because the aircraft is highly flexible, it can carry several different kinds of munitions at the same time. Experts say several strikes in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific appear consistent with Reaper markings. Each Reaper is controlled by a pilot and a sensor operator working from a ground control station. The pilot manages the aircraft's flight path and movement and the sensor operator manages the sensors and guides the munitions. The Reaper's advanced sensors make it much more than a weapon. It's also used to gather intelligence and conducts surveillance and reconnaissance. At 36 feet long, the Reaper is about a third of the size of a 737, and it can fly for more than 24 hours at a time. One Reaper costs about $16 million, according to General Atomics. The US strikes began in the Caribbean in September, but have since ramped up in the Pacific signaling a broader and sustained campaign. Members of the Trump administration have accused the people transporting the drugs of being terrorists.

These are a direct military threat to the United States of America. They're trying to drug out our country.

Narrator: But some members of Congress say they are alleged criminals, and since they aren't in an armed conflict with the US, the strikes on them are illegal and a possible war crime.

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