Spectacular photo of a USMC KC-130 Hercules over Iraq firing flares

[FlyingJets]

http://www.news.navy.mil/management/photodb/photos/030904-M-7837W-001.jpg​

Given that this photo was taken by LCpl. Andrew Williams (USMC) in September 2003, is it safe to assume that Iraqi airspace was at that time very unfriendly?

Via http://www.news.navy.mil/view_single.asp?id=9370 (original source), http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1562989/posts and http://chamorrobible.org/gpw/gpw-20051111.htm (has a medium sized image)

 

[Lostdog65]

I need one of those for when the tower can't see me on a 4 mile final!

Eric

 

[Mr Wu]

Isn't there a video of the c-130 gunship unloading every gun at the same time knocking around also?

 

[FlyingJets]

Via http://chamorrobible.org/gpw/gpw-20051111.htm comes this video:

KC-130 Flare Salvos (2004), VMGR-234: Operation Iraqi Freedom Footage of Two KC-130 Flare Salvos
http://www.Archive.org/details/Herc_Salvo2

Here's another WOW image of those two KC-130 Hercules aircraft:

http://www.tecom.usmc.mil/ccm/IMU/galleries/MarForRes/03%20Submissions/Sept/Images/030904-M-7837W-011.jpg (3000x2000, 2.72MB)

http://chamorrobible.org/images/photos/gpw-20051111b-UnitedStatesMarineCorps-030904-M-7837W-011.jpg (720x624, 38KB)

To see this live must really be a thrill.