A US Air Force AC-130 gunship conducted another strike against al Qaeda in Somalia this week, reported the Washington Post. If so, it would be the second this month, but Pentagon officials, so far, have refused to confirm the report. Spokesman Bryan Whitman said Wednesday, “The nature of some of our operations are such that I just won’t be able to provide you much information.” He did say that US concerns about al Qaeda operations in the region, so “we’re working with countries throughout that AOR [area of responsibility] to identify, track, seek, capture, and, if necessary, kill al Qaeda working, taking safe haven, operating in that region.”
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.