A B-1B bomber crew did yeoman work getting their aircraft on the ground safely after it experienced a catastrophic hydraulic failure; even more amazing the maintainers managed to repair damage so severe it would be a challenge back stateside, says 1st Lt. Ron Poe, 34th Aircraft Maintenance Unit assistant officer in charge. Maintainers found that the nose gear mount pins had sheared from their attachment points and that the No. 2 and 3 engines had ingested some of the hardware, reports SSgt. Cassandra Locke. They faced several major challenges, including getting the spare parts and the 100-degree heat. Another one was the fact they had never replaced a gear assembly without assistance from an Air Force depot.
The Pentagon’s cost estimate for the Iran War has risen to $37.5 billion, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told a congressional committee July 21—and without emergency supplemental funding, the military will have to “curtail” training to cover those costs, he added.