Exclusive: See where the North Dakota Air National Guard flies MQ-9 Reapers from Fargo

KVRR Local News was granted rare, exclusive access to the 119th Fighter Wing's secure facility near Hector International Airport.

FARGO (KVRR) – Inside a cramped, dimly-lit ground control station in Fargo, pilots with the North Dakota Air National Guard’s Happy Hooligans fly the MQ-9 Reaper, an unmanned aerial vehicle that’s flown remotely or autonomously by computer.

KVRR Local News was granted rare, exclusive access to the 119th Fighter Wing’s secure facility at the Air National Guard Base adjacent to Hector International Airport.

The Air Force calls the Reaper an “intelligence-collection asset.” It’s capable of carrying hundreds of pounds of weapons and has enough fuel to remain in the air for around 24 hours.

Pilots keep busy throughout the year, in all kinds of weather, flying training missions across North Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin and the Upper Midwest. During our visit, the crew was involved in a joint exercise with the Navy, hundreds of miles away.

The crew members are not being identified for security reasons.

“We’re going to do some training here in a little bit,” said one pilot as he maneuvered an MQ-9 at an altitude of about 23,000 feet. “We’ve got some Navy personnel on the other side of the country that are going to do some training with us today.”

Another feature of the MQ-9 is Automatic Landing and Takeoff Capability, also known as ATLC. Computers and satellites enable the Reaper to take off and land–all on its own–while under the watchful eyes of a pilot.

“There’s an internal go, no-go feature of the aircraft to make sure all the parameters are met,” said Lt. Col. Lee Teigen, Operations Group Commander of the 119th Wing.

“If the parameters are not met, it will abort the takeoff and landing. If they are met, it will start the automation process and the aircraft will takeoff on that pre-programmed flight mission.”

Inside the control center, the crew keeps busy watching an array of monitors that display critical information, including the aircraft’s position, speed, altitude, fuel, engine status and air charts. A joystick is used to control the Reaper’s onboard cameras.

The weather during this particular mission was ideal for flying.

“We just went up through the clouds out there. Didn’t pick up any icing, which is wonderful,” said the pilot.

The 119th Wing has about 430 full-time employees. It’s divided into four groups, including an Operations Group, Medical Group, Intelligence Surveillance Reconnaissance Group and a Mission Support Group.