Army surveillance aircraft - what does it do?

[Lndwarrior]

Saw this bad boy on the ramp at Salinas today. When I asked one of the aircrew if I could take a pic? "As long as you don't get to close," he says. Clearly he was not into talking so I snapped a quick pic and walked away.

The local FBO dude said they nicknamed it the Drag Queen! Great name when you see all the crazy stuff hanging off of it. It even had some strange stuff suspended above the wings. Some crazy antenna?

20210825_121406.jpg

 

[PeterNSteinmetz]

Just a guess. Once the Westerners are out, there will be a no-fly zone declared over the whateverthehell valley the resistance is holding. And we'll send AC-130's and some other hardware to break as many of the Taliban's toys as we can easily track down.

I hope not. IMO, now that we have paid this enormous price, let’s stay the heck out of the Middle East. Keep our military aircraft protecting US citizens at home. I really don’t appreciate paying for these things.

 

[PeterNSteinmetz]

A) You have a point.
B) I'm a bit vindictive and would like to make sure the Taliban doesn't get free run of the place anytime soon.

I know what you mean. I have no objection to individuals going over there to fight them or contributing money to such a fight. Certainly a moral thing to do given the Taliban's character.