President Kurmanbek Bakiyev of Kyrgyzstan on Monday reinforced his commitment to allowing the US military to stay on his territory and use the Manas Air Base to support operations in Afghanistan, according to the Associated Press. Bakiyev said the US is welcome to stay as long as it takes to bring stability to Afghanistan, but said that the rent for the base will increase.
The Air Force expects to start modifying its first B-52H Stratofortress bomber with new engines and other upgrades later this year, following the successful review of the Commercial Engine Replacement Program’s design.