A day after the nationwide constitutional referendum, US helicopters and fighters targeted insurgents in villages near Ramadi, Iraq, leaving some 70 militants dead, according to US Central Command. The scene was near the spot where five US soldiers died from an attack by an improvised explosive device. USAF F-15s performed an air strike against the location—when it appeared insurgents were going to plant another bomb—using a GBU-38 Joint Direct Attack Munition. Navy F/A-18s also struck a building being used by insurgents in the vicinity of Ramadi, after gunmen opened fire on a passing Cobra attack helicopter.
The rate of building B-21 bombers would speed up if the fiscal 2026 defense budget passes. But it remains unclear how much capacity would be added, and whether the Air Force would simply build the bombers faster, or buy more.