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ir Force Secretary Michael Wynne expressed frustration in his speech at AFA’s Air & Space Conference yesterday over the way airpower’s contributions in the war on terror are frequently glossed over. Air supremacy over the battlefield seems to be assumed, he said, but it is not a birthright and today’s fourth-generation fighters become less dominant the more time passes. Also of concern is the lack of recognition of the way air power’s asymmetric advantage shifts battles in our favor. Air supremacy prevents the enemy from massing in Iraq or Afghanistan—large troop concentrations would get wiped out. “It would be an entirely different war” without control of the skies, he said.
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.