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.
The rate of building B-21 bombers would speed up if the fiscal 2026 defense budget passes. But it remains unclear how much capacity would be added, and whether the Air Force would simply build the bombers faster, or buy more.
