Two quick-thinking Texas Air National Guardsmen know the answer. They fixed up a custom fuel truck nozzle that enabled them to refuel 100 stranded civilian buses at Ellington Field in Houston. The buses were needed to continue evacuation efforts for Hurricane Rita. MSgt. Lynn Bailey, of the 147th Fighter Wing’s fuel shop, and SSgt. Vic Taylor, a refueling mechanic, developed the makeshift nozzle. Using this system, the Guard refueled 260 buses overall in Beaumont and Houston.
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.
