An Air Force Reserve Command C-5 from the 433rd Airlift Wing, Kelly Field, Tex., airlifted 26,000 pounds of meals, ready to eat (MREs) to Homestead ARB, Fla., late last week to aid Hurricane Wilma relief efforts. At NAS JRB Fort Worth, Tex., airmen, sailors, and DOD civilians loaded a C-17 with pallets of food and water. The hurricane struck the Florida Gulf Coast as a Category 3, then downshifted somewhat as it raced across the state, sending off tornadoes in its wake. Some six million people were left without power.
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.