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King Airs to Kandahar – US Using King Air’s as Spy Planes – Flying Magazine

Is this a spyplane? Not likely, but it could be. Photo: Paul Csizmadia - OPShots Contributor

A story that appeared Wednesday in The New York Times — but which actually dates back more than a year — reported on a U.S. Air Force program that takes lightly used, corporate-configured King Airs and turns them into spy planes — the newly named Liberty MC-12, which are used to gather intelligence on enemy operatives in Afghanistan and Iraq.

The King Air conversion takes a $3 million to $4 million airplane, rips out the amenities, installs operator stations and, most importantly, the electronic and optical eyes and ears of the transport-turned-spyplane.

via King Airs to Kandahar | Flying Magazine | The World’s Most Widely Read Aviation Magazine.

About the author

Chuck Slusarczyk Jr.

I started OPShots in June 2006 as a place to share and display aviation photos without the often restrictive policies of other aviation websites. I want to share my love of aviation with fellow aviation geeks and provide a spotlight on Cleveland Hopkins International airport in the process.

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