Honoring the Alaska-Siberia Ferry Crews:
During World War II, there were American and Russian aircrews that ferried some 8,000 US aircraft from Montana to Russia by way of Alaska and Siberia. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov, along with assorted other officials, on Aug. 27 helped dedicate a memorial to these intrepid fliers in Fairbanks, Alaska. Severe weather caused the crash of 133 aircraft in North America—flying from Montana across Canada to Fairbanks—and another 44 in Siberia. The US Army Air Forces 7th Ferrying Squadron flew the US leg, turning the aircraft over to their Russian counterparts at Army Ladd Airfield, now known as Ft. Wainwright.
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.
