The Air Force has awarded Boeing a new $1.1 billion contract to provide programmed depot maintenance for KC-135 tankers over the next 10 years. In a company statement, Pat Finneran, president of Boeing Support Systems, said that Boeing has sustained the KC-135 PDM program since 1998 “always on time … with proven results.”
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.