KEY FIELD, Miss. (1/12/10) – Mississippi Air National Guardsmen showcased a new intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) platform training facility here Jan. 9 for the director of the Air National Guard. "Project Liberty is the Air Force's new ISR platform," said Lt. Col. Rick Berryhill, the facility's spokesman at the 186th Air Refueling Wing.

For the first time, Air National Guard aircrews will be the sole operators of a new aircraft straight off the assembly line. The C-27J Spartan, the latest propeller-driven airlifter, is an "extremely rugged" aircraft, designed for austere environments, said Air Force officials. It is about half the size of a C-130 Hercules and has 3.5 cargo pallet positions. "It is the first time in U.S. Air Force history where the service acquired a new airframe solely owned, operated and maintained by the Air National Guard," said Lt. Col.