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.
