The man arrested last week for allegedly threatening to blow up Hill AFB, Utah, had worked at the base as a civilian mechanic for six years, reports The Salt Lake Tribune. The defense attorney for William Jeffrey Stiffler, who is a resident of Idaho, noted during his client’s arraignment hearing that Stiffler had been taking anti-depressants following the break-up of his marriage. Stiffler reportedly linked his bomb threat and threats to kill members of an unidentified Idaho family with a demand for US troops to be brought home from Southwest Asia.
The Pentagon did not include any funding for the the E-7A Wedgetail in its 2027 budget request, setting up another round in its fight with Congress over the future of the Boeing-built successor to the E-3 Sentry Airborne Early Warning and Control jet.