Continuing the Air Force plan to transform its numbered air forces into warfighting headquarters, 12th Air Force at Davis-Monthan AFB, Ariz., now has become Air Forces Southern, or AFSOUTH, provisional. (It will remain provisional until it formally reaches operational capability.) In addition, AFSOUTH has become a full-time Air Force component for US Southern Command. AFSOUTH also has responsibility for training and equipping its wings and units.
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.
