Airmen currently deployed to Southwest Asia from Dyess AFB, Tex., to build bombs for the B-1Bs supporting the 379th Air Expeditionary Wing have produced nearly 400 munitions over the past couple of weeks, reports Capt. Teresa Sullivan. They work 24/7 in 12- to 15-hour shifts building, testing, inspecting, storing, and maintaining all the munitions needed by these strike aircraft in the combat theater. And, they’re doing it in sweltering hear, from 125-degree days to 90-degree nights.
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.