Det. 1 of the North Dakota Air National Guard’s 119th Fighter Wing—the Happy Hooligans—has turned over its air defense alert mission at Langley AFB, Va., to the Vermont ANG’s 158th FW. The Hooligans are giving up their F-16s, thanks to BRAC 2005, to fly Predator unmanned aerial vehicles and the new Joint Cargo Aircraft.
Boeing’s receipt of the 10th lot contract award for the KC-46 Pegasus this week leaves just three lots left to complete the Air Force’s buy of the tanker, although a further buy of 75 additional aircraft as a “bridge” to the Next-Generation Aerial-refueling System (NGAS) seems increasingly likely.