The Mississippi Air National Guard’s 172nd Airlift Wing has taken possession of a new C-17 airlifter assault runway built at Camp Shelby Joint Forces Training Center, a state-owned facility. The 172nd plans to use the runway to train C-17 crews for short field operations and for rapid deployment training with ground forces. The Sun Herald reports that the runway cost more than $10 million and took a year to complete. It is leased on a “no-cost basis” to the 172nd AW. The grand opening drew ANG Director, Lt. Gen. Craig McKinley, and Rep. Gene Taylor (D-Miss.) and Rep. Charles Pickering (R-Miss.), among other officials.
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.