The Happy Hooligans of the North Dakota Air National Guard’s 119th Fighter Wing have received their first of eight C-21 aircraft. The Hooligans had to give up their F-16s, courtesy of BRAC 2005, and now will fly the C-21 until around 2010. At that time, they expect to get a few of the new Joint Cargo Aircraft. Meanwhile, the unit also picked up a Predator unmanned aerial vehicle mission.
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.