It looks like programs are going to be the main big bill-payer as the Air Force confronts a further $12 billion of belt-tightening over the next six fiscal years. Air Force Secretary Michael Wynne told defense reporters in Washington Tuesday morning that the service has done all that can be done in terms of reducing personnel and that the 2005 BRAC round will actually cost the Air Force rather than save it any money. “There’s a war on,” so readiness accounts can’t be raided, Wynne said. That leaves only programs as a cash cow.
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.
