Unit members of the North Dakota Air National Guard,

Unit members of the North Dakota Air National Guard, Fargo, N.D., get their first look at a C-27J Spartan aircraft upon landing Oct. 14, at Hector International Airport in preparation for a familiarization tour being conducted Oct. 15, by L-3 Platform Integration, Alenia North America, and the companies' joint venture, Global Military Aircraft Systems, at the Fargo Air National Guard Base. The familiarization tour is to help unit members of the North Dakota Air National Guard get acquainted with their future aircraft and planned mission transition scheduled to begin in 2013. The media is also invited to the NDANG to take a look at the new aircraft. The C-27J is a mid-range, multifunctional and interoperable aircraft able to perform logistical re-supply medical evacuation, troop movement, airdrop operations, humanitarian assistance and homeland security missions for the U.S. Air Force. The C-27J is essential to the U.S. Air Force's ability to provide on-demand transport of time-sensitive/mission-critical cargo and key personnel to forward deployed units.