Airmen and aircraft from the Air National Guard’s 120th, 140th, and 150th Fighter Wings have been sent to Kunsan AB, South Korea, where they have formed the 186th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron. The Guardsmen from Montana, Colorado, and New Mexico, respectively, who now answer to the nickname the “Rocky Mountain Coalition,” are training with Kunsan’s 8th Fighter Wing. The training regimen calls for pilots and ground crews to assimilate into the Wolf Pack as full members of the wing, ready to respond when and where needed.
The Air Force has embraced new technical approaches like open mission systems and rapid software updates for cutting-edge aircraft like the B-21 and Collaborative Combat Aircraft. Increasingly, though, the service is also working to apply these to its older, “legacy” aircraft, officials said this week.