The MC-12W Liberty provides intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) to ground forces all over the world
As explained in the interesting video in this post the MC-12W Liberty provides intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) to ground forces all over the world.
The MC-12W, which is a military version of the Hawker Beechcraft Super King Air 350ER civilian turboprop, is not just an aircraft, but a complete collection, processing, analysis and dissemination system. Actually the MC-12 is part of a fully operational system that consists of a modified aircraft with sensors, a ground exploitation cell, line-of-sight and satellite communications datalinks, along with a robust voice communications suite.
The aircraft is equipped with an electro-optical infrared sensor and other sensors as the mission requires.
Medium- to low-altitude ISR is a core mission for USAF: the MC-12 capability in fact supports all aspects of the Air Force Irregular Warfare mission (counter insurgency, foreign internal defense and building partnership capacity).
Photo credit: Senior Airman Tiffany Trojca / U.S. Air Force
Source: U.S. Air Force