Seventeen C-17s from the 437th Airlift Wing at Charleston AFB, S.C., took off and flew over South Carolina’s Cooper River Tuesday—entering into formation and breaking a record. The C-17s conducted low-level training in the Charleston area, before performing an airdrop at North Auxiliary Air Field, S.C. The 437th AW flew 16 of the new airlifters in formation across country to Texas, when the unit participated in a composite force exercise in May 2005.
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.