Rep. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) thinks his state may not lose an Air Force Research Lab facility at Mesa, Ariz., that BRAC 2005 directed should move to AFRL headquarters at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio. Flake told the Arizona Republic that the action on AFRL’s Warfighter Readiness Research Division at Mesa could be “postponed indefinitely.” Of course, that is not supposed to happen once the President and Congress sign off on the independent BRAC commission recommendations. And, Wright-Patt is investing big money to absorb new functions.
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.