The Air Force plans to shed more than half its active duty force of 74 C-21 executive jet transports to aid its cost cutting efforts, reports Stars and Stripes. Some Air National Guard units—like North Dakota’s 119th Fighter Wing—will pick up C-21s, while others will go to the boneyard, formally the Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Center, at Davis Monthan AFB, Ariz. The Air Force will send one or more to its Flight Standards Agency in Oklahoma to replace one that crashed last year.
The incoming head of the 7th Air Force will face an intense mission while relying on fourth-generation fighters to stave off looming threats from North Korea and China.