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.
A combined Navy and Air Force program is seeking to build a smaller version of a ubiquitous air-to-air missile that could give advanced aircraft, such as the Collaborative Combat Aircraft, greater magazine depth in a high-end fight.