US MC-130J lands on a highway in Sweden to unload the HIMARS artillery system during a special forces exercise

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A screenshot shows the MC-130J Commando II after landing on the motorway in Gotland, Sweden.

The MC-130J Commando II Special Operations aircraft unloaded an M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System, which was then loaded onto a Swedish C-130 during recent exercises on Gotland Island.

A really interesting training mission was conducted in Sweden on Saturday, October 23, 2021, where a US Air Force Special Operations Command MC-130J Commando II aircraft landed on a motorway on Gotland, Sweden’s largest island strategically located in the Baltic States Sea.

The American special operations aircraft arrived over the stretch of road used for formation exercises with a Swedish Air Force C-130H (known locally as TP 84) and two Swedish JAS 39 Gripen jets.

Accompanied by two JAS 39 Gripen and accompanied by a TP 84 (Swedish C-130H), the MC-130J arrives via Gotland for landing on the motorway. (Image credit: Swedish MOD)

After landing on the road, the MC-130J, belonging to the 67th Special Operations Squadron of the 352d Special Operations Group (352 SOG) of RAF Mildenhall, UK, unloaded an M142 HIMARS (High Mobility Artillery Rocket System).

#Now US Special Operations aircraft lands on a motorway near Visby, Gotland ðŸ‡¸ðŸ‡ª with an exceptional cargo #SoFinEurope pic.twitter.com/W4Ii8ddtr0

– US Spec Ops Europe (@US_SOCEUR) October 23, 2021

The HIMARS missile artillery system is a light multiple rocket launcher developed for the US Army in the late 1990s, mounted on a truck frame and carrying six missiles or one MGM-140 ATACMS missile.

The HIMARS system was then loaded onto the Swedish TP 84.

And maybe even more interesting that #HIMARS was then loaded onto a Swedish C-130H Hercules (local name TP 84) and relocated to another location in Sweden. h / t @GripenNews #turpo=# sÃ¤kpol https://t.co/UycesACQIR

– Corporal Frisk (@CorporalFrisk) October 23, 2021

According to the Swedish MOD, the operation of landing on the motorway and unloading / loading the M142 with the HIMARS was part of a Swedish-led special forces exercise currently being conducted in southern Sweden and Gotland, in which operational and tactical command and coordination of several parallel Combat and intelligence operations are practiced and developed.

â€œWe have taken further steps in our cooperation with the USA, where we have relocated a long-range artillery system to Gotland with American military transport aircraft, reloaded onto a Swedish military aircraft for onward transport within Sweden. In my opinion, the possibility of working with our partners with these and other types of ground or airborne weapon systems removes any doubts about our joint ability to guarantee security in the Baltic Sea region, â€said Special Forces Command, Brigadier General Anders LÃ¶fberg.

The MC-130J on the runway. (Image credit: Swedish MOD)

Although Sweden has long pursued a policy of political neutrality and is not part of the NATO treaty, it is a member of the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council and regularly takes part in joint exercises with the US and other Western allies. During the Cold War, the Swedish government secretly made preparations to receive military aid from the United States in the event of Soviet aggression.

The island of Gotland in particular is considered to be extremely strategic in the region, so that it is considered a “fixed aircraft carrier in the Baltic Sea“. Last year, in response to a major Russian naval exercise that included a simulated amphibious landing, the Swedish military had to raise regional alarms, deploy four naval warships and an unspecified number of ground forces and fighter jets. US specialty aircraft operate regularly in Sweden and Gotland, and it is more than likely that this will be the case even more in the future.

In dealing with the MC-130J Commando II, here are some details about the aircraft we released in 2017 when some photos released by the US DoD proved that the multi-mission combat transporter / special operations tanker joined OIR (Operation Inherent Resolve) against the Islamic was state in Iraq and Syria.

The MC-130J Commando II, which supports the. has replaced The MC-130N / P Combat Shadow II aircraft is the modern special operations variant of the Hercules, whose main tasks are HAAR (Helicopter Air-to-Air Refueling) from SOF helicopters / tilt rotor aircraft, infiltration, exfiltration and restoration of SOF by dropping or landing on remote airfields. Interestingly, the aircraft can also be used for FARP (Forward Air Refueling Point) operations to perform covert night refueling operations at locations where gas stations are inaccessible or when air refueling is not possible.

Operating primarily at low altitude and at night, the MC-130Js conduct secret missions with less likelihood of visual detection and airborne threat interception.

According to the US Air Force, the MC-130J has an advanced flight station with two pilots and fully integrated digital avionics; fully occupied Combat Systems Operator (CSO) and additional flight deck stations; 13 color multifunctional liquid crystal displays; Head-up displays; fully integrated navigation systems with dual inertial navigation system and global positioning system; integrated defense systems; Low power color radar; digital moving map display. The aircraft is equipped with new turboprop engines with six-bladed all-composite propellers; digital autopilot; improved fuel, environmental and ice protection systems; improved cargo handling system; Universal Air Refueling Slipway Installation (UARRSI), Air Refueling Capsules, Electro-Optic / Infrared (EO / IR) System; dual SATCOM for voice / data; 60/90 kVA generators; increased DC electrical power, loadmaster / scanner restraint system; and LAIRCM regulations.

David Cenciotti is a freelance journalist based in Rome, Italy. He is the founder and editor of The Aviationist, one of the world’s most popular and widely read military aviation blogs. Since 1996 he has been writing for major global magazines including Air Forces Monthly, Combat Aircraft and many others in the fields of aviation, defense, war, industry, intelligence, crime and cyberwar. He has reported from the US, Europe, Australia and Syria and flown several fighter jets with various air forces. He is a former 2nd Lt. of the Italian Air Force, private pilot and graduate in computer science. He has written four books.

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The MC-130J Commando II Special Operations aircraft unloaded an M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System, which was then loaded onto a Swedish C-130 during recent exercises on Gotland Island.

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