According to a new Congressional Budget Office report, the optimum way to help the Pentagon reduce deployment times for US forces in the early stages of a conflict is to develop and purchase heavy-lift airships. CBO notes that airships “would carry more than 10 times the average payload of a C-17.” However, it goes on to say, they would only travel at one-fourth the speed and “high winds could still present problems,” not to mention “uncertainty about technical feasibility, operational performance, and cost.”
PHOTOS: Air Force Shows Off Second B-21 in New Images
Sept. 12, 2025
On Sept. 12, the Air Force released half a dozen new photos of the second B-21 bomber to fly, giving observers and aviation enthusiasts another glimpse of the secretive Raider.