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The Lockheed MC-130 Combat Talon II isa special mission aircraft operated by the United States Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC), a wing of the Air Education and Training Command, and an AFSOC-gained wing of the Air Force Reserve Command. Based on the Lockheed C-130 Hercules transport, the MC-130s' missions are the infiltration, exfiltration, and resupply of special operations forces, and the air refueling of (primarily) special operations helicopter and tilt-rotor aircraft. The first of the variants, the MC-130E, was developed to support clandestine special operations missions during the Vietnam War. Eighteen were created by modifying C-130E transports, and four lost through attrition,[citation needed] but the remainder served more than four decades after their initial modification. An update, the MC-130H Combat Talon II, was developed in the 1980s from the C-130H and went into service in the 1990s. Four of the original 24 H-series aircraft have been lost in operations. The Combat Shadows were built during the Vietnam War for search and rescue operations and repurposed in the 1980s as AFSOC air-refueling tankers; the last of the 24 retired in 2015. The Combat Spear was developed in 2006 as an inexpensive version of the Combat Talon II but was reconfigured and designated the AC-130W Stinger II in 2012. The MC-130J, which became operational in 2011, is the new-production variant that is replacing the other special operations MC-130s. As of May 2016, the Air Force has taken delivery of 33 of the planned 37 -J models. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Samuel Morse)

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Air Force Capt. Zoe Kotnik was relieved after two weeks of her command of an Air Combat Command F-16 Viper demonstration team. Col. Allen Herritage, director of public affairs at ACC, released a Feb. 12, 2019, statement saying the decision was made due to a "loss of confidence in her ability to lead." (Image: Twitter, Air Force video screenshot)

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MARK 60 CAPTOR - Airmen from the 42nd Munitions Maintenance Squadron prepare to load a Mark 60 CAPTOR (encapsulated torpedo) anti-submarine mine onto a 42nd Bombardment Wing B-52G Stratofortress aircraft during Ghost Warrior, a joint Air Force/Navy exercise conducted during the base's conventional operational readiness inspection.

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Air Force falcon mascots spread their wings during the first half of an NCAA college football game against Boise State in Boise, Idaho, on Friday, Nov. 20, 2015. Air Force won 37-30. (AP Photo/Otto Kitsinger)

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FILE - In this Oct. 22, 2016, file photo, Hawaii linebacker Jahlani Tavai leads his teammates in the team's traditional haka, or war cry, after defeating Air Force 34-27 in double overtime in an NCAA college football game at Air Force Academy, Colo. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski, File)

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In this image taken with a slow shutter speed and provided by the U.S. Air Force, an unarmed Minuteman 3 intercontinental ballistic missile launches during an operational test early Wednesday, April 26, 201, from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. The target of the test was in the Pacific Ocean. An Air Force statement said the mission was part of a program to test the effectiveness, readiness, and accuracy of the weapon system. (Michael Peterson/U.S. Air Force via AP)

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In this image taken with a slow shutter speed and provided by the U.S. Air Force, an unarmed Minuteman 3 intercontinental ballistic missile launches during an operational test early Wednesday, April 26, 2017, from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. The target of the test was in the Pacific Ocean. An Air Force statement said the mission was part of a program to test the effectiveness, readiness, and accuracy of the weapon system. (Senior Airman Ian Dudley/U.S. Air Force via AP) ** FILE **

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This photo provided by Eglin Air Force Base shows the GBU-43/B Massive Ordnance Air Blast bomb. The Pentagon says U.S. forces in Afghanistan dropped the military's largest non-nuclear bomb on an Islamic State target in Afghanistan. A Pentagon spokesman said it was the first-ever combat use of the bomb, known as the GBU-43, which he said contains 11 tons of explosives. The Air Force calls it the Massive Ordnance Air Blast bomb. Based on the acronym, it has been nicknamed the "Mother Of All Bombs." (Eglin Air Force Base via AP)

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This frame grab from video supplied by KFDA-TV shows the broken fuselage of an Air Force plane Wednesday, March 15, 2017, in Clovis, N.M. The Air Force says three service members were killed when the single-engine reconnaissance and surveillance plane crashed in eastern New Mexico during a training flight. (KFDA-TV via AP)

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This frame grab from video supplied by KFDA-TV shows investigators looking over the broken fuselage of an Air Force plane Wednesday, March 15, 2017, in Clovis, N.M. The Air Force says three service members were killed when the single-engine reconnaissance and surveillance plane crashed in eastern New Mexico during a training flight. (KFDA-TV via AP)

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Wyoming head coach Allen Edwards reacts to a call during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game against Air Force in the Mountain West Conference tournament Wednesday, March 8, 2017, in Las Vegas. Air Force defeated Wyoming 83-68. (AP Photo/Isaac Brekken)

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Air Force head coach Dave Pilipovich reacts to a call during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game against Wyoming in the Mountain West Conference tournament Wednesday, March 8, 2017, in Las Vegas. Air Force defeated Wyoming 83-68. (AP Photo/Isaac Brekken)

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Air Force's Hayden Graham, left, Wyoming's Alexander Aka Gorski, of Sweden, (3) and Alan Herndon reach for a rebound during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game in the Mountain West Conference tournament Wednesday, March 8, 2017, in Las Vegas. Air Force defeated Wyoming 83-68. (AP Photo/Isaac Brekken)

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Air Force's Lavelle Scottie shoots as Wyoming's Alan Herndon defends during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game in the Mountain West Conference tournament Wednesday, March 8, 2017, in Las Vegas. Air Force defeated Wyoming 83-68. (AP Photo/Isaac Brekken)

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Air Force's Jacob Van shoots during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game against Wyoming in the Mountain West Conference tournament Wednesday, March 8, 2017, in Las Vegas. Air Force defeated Wyoming 83-68. (AP Photo/Isaac Brekken)

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Air Force's Pervis Louder shoots during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game against Wyoming in the Mountain West Conference tournament Wednesday, March 8, 2017, in Las Vegas. Air Force defeated Wyoming 83-68. (AP Photo/Isaac Brekken)

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Air Force's Pervis Louder, right, drives to the basket as Wyoming's Louis Adams defends during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game in the Mountain West Conference tournament Wednesday, March 8, 2017, in Las Vegas. Air Force defeated Wyoming 83-68. (AP Photo/Isaac Brekken)

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Air Force's Hayden Graham drives to the basket as Wyoming's Cody Kelley, left, and Hayden Dalton defend during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game in the Mountain West Conference tournament Wednesday, March 8, 2017, in Las Vegas. Air Force defeated Wyoming 83-68. (AP Photo/Isaac Brekken)

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Air Force guard Jacob Van, front, looks to pass the ball as New Mexico forward Joe Furstinger defends late in the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Wednesday, Feb. 8, 2017, at Air Force Academy, Colo. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

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