According to an Aug. 1 report in the News-Journal, the Air Force has formally stipulated that the 179th Airlift Wing will fly the C-27J Spartan Joint Cargo Aircraft, probably beginning in 2012, and until then will fly C-21 Learjets. The 179th is destined to lose its C-130s per BRAC 2005, and USAF officials had signaled last year that the unit would get the Spartan. Additionally, the newspaper reported that the Ohio Adjutant General, Maj. Gen. Greg Wayt, the Air Force might give the 179th AW a formal training unit mission for the C-27.
The Air Force is launching an effort to develop a new stand-off missile with a range of 1,000 nautical miles, or 1,150 miles, that would eventually be used for both air-to-air and air-to-surface missions.