US Air Force officials investigating the Sept. 26 accident at Manas Airport in Kyrgyzstan involving a Kyrgyz airliner and a USAF KC-135 found the accident to be primarily the fault of a Kyrgyz air traffic controller. An earlier announcement by Kyrgyz officials put the blame squarely on the USAF aircrew. The USAF accident board acknowledged that the KC-135 aircrew shared some responsibility. The board also faulted a tower liaison employed by the US to ease communication.
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.