Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.) has taken issue with the Air Force’s 2007 budget proposal to retire some B-52 bombers because, he says, “Right now deep strike largely resides on the back of these ancient B-52s.” Hunter pointed out during an Air Force budget hearing last week that the service has “resisted quite strongly” any new starts on new bombers, noting that additional B-2 initiatives were “dropped like a rock.” Hunter asserted that relying on “this tiny contingent of B-2s, even with our new smaller precision munitions, you still are cutting it very, very close.” He added that with attrition factored in, “We are in what I would call real trouble.”
The last remaining T-1 Jayhawk at JBSA-Randolph, Texas, took its final flight to the "Boneyard" at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Ariz., on July 15. The 99th Flying Training Squadron will train pilots using T-6 and simulator until it gets T-7 Red Hawk in fiscal 2026.