Hecker and fellow Raptor pilots—on the first day many of them had ever launched weapons from an F/A-22 for an air-to-ground sortie—not only hit their targets, they “shacked” them, said weapons systems evaluators at Hill AFB, Utah. The term means the bomb struck the target dead center—a bull’s eye. “What we saw today was an outstanding display of training and technology,” said Col. Doug Reed, commander of the 388th Range Squadron at Hill.
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.
