AC-130/Trivia

Miscellaneous

 * In the movie The A-Team, the A-Team is betrayed again and ambushed by an AC-130. The antagonist watches the attack through his laptop, and remarks "Wow. Looks just like Call of Duty, doesn't it?" after using it. The footage on the laptop looks very similar to Death From Above.

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare

 * The mp weapons folder show the 25mm, 40mm, and 105mm weapons for the AC-130, suggesting it was originally going to be implemented as a killstreak for multiplayer. The weapons are inaccessible via devconsole however. Attempting to use effects and sound effects from the weapons in other weapons will cause the game to crash while starting a server.
 * In "Death From Above", there is actually no AC-130. This can be seen using the 'noclip' console command on the PC.
 * Possibly enemies in "Death from Above" originally were to be marked with blinking corners, or, they were made for debug. This can be enabled through console. In Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 multiplayer they were replaced with red boxes.
 * There is an unused model of an AC-130 in the games' files, suggesting that it was going to be used somewhere in the campaign or in the multiplayer mode.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2

 * If an opponent locks on to the AC-130, frantic beeping will be heard. If the player dodges missile, and reloads the flare, the player will hear a "Ding-Dong" sound, similar to the hull breach at "Mile High Club".
 * The parts of the plane and the shots fired (with the exception of the 25mm) can now be seen compared to Call of Duty 4's Death From Above, where it is just a screen and explosions.
 * In Multiplayer, when an enemy AC-130 is called in, the multiplayer announcer will announce this with a terrified voice except for the Task Force 141 announcer Ghost, who remains relatively calm. This is easier to hear on the Spetsnaz. This video, shows all the factions' reactions to an enemy AC-130 Spectre.
 * In Multiplayer, the AC-130 has a countdown of 43 seconds to when the player is back on the ground. However, it takes the player out of AC-130 mode 3 seconds early.
 * After getting the ability to call in an AC-130 it is recommended to switch to another class which has Danger Close Pro enabled.
 * If a player uses an EMP after using an AC-130, it will still fly off the map while deploying flares.
 * In Multiplayer, regardless of whether the player plays as the U.S. Army Rangers, Navy SEALs or Task Force 141, the crew of the AC-130 will always speak in an American accent, most likely due to the fact that America is the only nation that uses the AC-130 and its variants, and it is reasonable to assume that an allied force would lend assistance. However, the Spetsnaz, Brazilian Militia, and OpFor speak in their native languages.
 * When the AC-130 is leaving the battlefield it is still visible but cannot be locked-on or destroyed by any of the launchers. This is signaled by the gunship repeatedly launching flares until it disappears.
 * It is possible to shoot down the players own killstreak rewards with the AC-130 if he or she is not careful, as they are hard to distinguish on its thermal. However, enemy kill streaks have red boxes around them.
 * The player can shoot the AC-130 with a primary weapon and hear a metal "cling" sound, but it will not damage it.
 * While inside the AC-130, the American/TF141 crew uses the same comments as in Call of Duty 4 - "Death From Above": e.g.: "We got a runner...there he is!", "Yup, there's a lot of little pieces down there." etc.
 * If a player gets a game winning killcam with an AC-130 regardless of which gun, they earn the title Death from Above, which is a reference to the Call of Duty 4 level.
 * If a player gets flashbanged on the ground he will be affected while controlling the AC-130.
 * To shoot an AC-130 down with a Predator Missile, the AC-130 must be lined up with the predator drone when the missile is launched. However, on a small map like Rust, a player can take out an AC-130 with a Predator Missile by pulling up on the Left Analog stick (or equivalent) and gaining height. The user can then look for an AC-130 and dive down on the plane. NOTE: This will not work if the user applies the afterburners as the missile will not be able to turn quick enough to catch the AC-130.
 * Oddly, if two or more missiles hit an AC-130 in multiplayer, all contributing players will get points and credit for destroying it.
 * The AC-130 can only deploy two sets of flares in combat; the rest are deployed while leaving the battlefield.
 * The Call of Duty 4 10th prestige emblem is unlocked by completing the AC-130 prestige challenge (1000 AC-130 kills).
 * When an emergency airdrop is used, its an AC-130 that drops the packages, not a C-130. This is strange as the C-130 is known for airdropping equipment into battle. If the player is observant, one can notice that the Emergency Airdrop plane is intended to be a C-130 with the appropriate markings, paint scheme, and cargo space. However, this "C-130" is simply a re-textured AC-130.
 * If the player is able to go to the AC-130 on spectate he can see that the propellers are actually not moving and that when he fires the guns the round actually comes from behind the plane rather than the gun. Video
 * In the Spec Ops level "Overwatch", the player using the AC-130 can actually kill themselves with it. The player's teammate has to shoot the AC-130, and if lucky, the player will get hit by the teammate, causing the sights of the 105mm gun to aim upwards at the wing. If the player shoots the 105mm at the right moment, he will shoot the wing, causing the player to die.
 * In "Overwatch", the 25mm Gatling gun fires bursts fully automatically, and the 40mm cannon semi-automatically without needing to reload, just like in Death From Above.
 * In Hardcore game modes, an AC-130 is able to shoot down its teammates' air support.
 * In Modern Warfare 2 multiplayer, the AC-130 is the only killstreak that does not disappear when its icon on the mini-map does. It stays longer so the player can see it launch the flares and leave the battlefield.
 * AC-130 has infinite flares, which means the player has to fire Stinger at once, then fire next one before AC-130 finishes reloading flares
 * Strangely, when the player calls in an AC-130, it just appears out of nowhere in the sky, but if the player calls in a Chopper Gunner, it takes time to get to the battlefield.
 * Many players who encounter the AC-130 often learn which gun is being fired simply from the sounds. The 105mm has a low, distant thud. The 40mm has high pitched, 3 round burst thud. And finally, the 20mm has a distant "Brrt" sound. Depending on how experienced the gunner is, however, players may not hear the sound of the guns firing as most people cycle through the 105, 40, and 20 in rapid succession.
 * It is possible to get a headshot with any of the weapons mounted on the AC-130, just like it is possible to get a headshot with a Predator Missile.
 * The AC-130's cannons cannot turn to the edges of some maps. This can cause problems on maps such as Derail and Wasteland, as many of the spawns are near the edges of the maps.
 * The AC-130 is the weakest non-passive killstreak in the game, as it has only 1000 HP, although it can only be destroyed via launchers, Predator Missiles or an EMP.
 * If the player kills himself with an AC-130 in multiplayer, the voice will make a remark.
 * There was a Mod in the early months of the game's release where the user would not need to reload any weapons, including the AC-130's Cannons. This can be seen in the video below.
 * The in-game model for the AC-130 is actually very small, about the size of a UAV. This can be observed in Spectator mode or when attempting to destroy it with a Predator missile.
 * The 'Spectre' challenge is a reference to the AC-130H nickname 'Spectre', When in game, The user controls an AC-130U, nicknamed 'Spooky' instead.
 * There is a glitch where after the AC-130 has finished its use, it will stay circling the air for about another minute until flying away without popping its flares.
 * There is also another glitch where the AC-130 pops either an extra flare, or sometimes a few more. This makes shooting down the AC-130 a LOT harder.
 * If a second AC-130 is called in, it will appear right where the other one left.
 * If a Host Migration occurs while in the AC-130, the timer will still be going. But the timer will hit zero and nothing will happen and the player will be able to control the AC-130 for as long as they want. However players almost never catch on and will shoot the plane down.
 * Due to players cycling of reloading AC-130 guns when the more popular/deadly gun (the 105mm) is ready to be used again, the AC-130 Gunner will shout "Gun ready!" in English regardless of what nationality the player is playing as.
 * When selecting the reward in Multiplayer it is left to right, but the Emblem version of the AC-130 icon goes right to left.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3

 * The AC-130's default view is no longer infrared like previous games. This can be changed by pressing the action/reload button.
 * The ﻿AC-130 FCO in Modern Warfare 3 is a female not male like past games.
 * The AC-130 is unavailable in the Wii version on Modern Warfare 3
 * The AC-130 audio plays the fasten seatbelts sound when an opponent is locking onto your aircraft with anti-aircraft weaponry.