Gen. Michael Moseley, Chief of Staff, on a recent visit to Balad AB, Iraq, told airmen that the Air Force’s shift to a 120-day cycle increased the number of airmen who must deploy as part of an Air Expeditionary Force. He said: “When we deploy an aviation package for 120 days we need a lot more equipment and people because of the increased maintenance the aircraft needs in those environments. That means we need more services, security forces, and other support, but now we’ve just made our footprint bigger.” So, the question is, “Do we go back to 90-day rotations.”
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.
