Gen. Ronald E. Keys, head of Air Combat Command, voiced his views recently, saying that he has five focus areas: people, expeditionary operations, recapitalization, organization, and transformation. Key to his plan for recapitalization, he says, is creating “fiscal headroom.” To do that he wants ACC airmen to “understand what we can stop doing—what we can just walk away from.”
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.