Gen. Paul Hester, commander of Pacific Air Forces, plans to take possession next month of PACAF’s first F-22A Raptor. He told attendees at AFA’s Orlando symposium that he is going to Marietta, Ga., to pick up the first Elmendorf AFB, Alaska-bound F-22. The Air Force has now fully equipped the 1st Fighter Wing at Langley AFB, Va., with Raptors, so the service’s top fighter will begin bedding down in the Pacific, starting in Alaska and then in Hawaii.
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.
