Aussies Get Antsy Over US Bombers: Shortly after Australia and the US announced that USAF B-1B, B-2, and B-52 bombers, deployed to Andersen AFB, Guam, would be using the Delamere air weapons range in Australia’s Northern Territory, locals voiced dissent. The mayor of Katherine in the territory told The Australian, there have been accidents “when the Americans were training.” A leader of the Greens party, Sen. Bob Brown, told ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corp.) Online, “The Australian Government more and more is allowing the Americans to view this country as the 51st state.”
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.