McGuire Air Force Base in New Jersey is gaining Navy and Marine Corps aircraft from the BRAC-divestiture of NAS JRB Willow Grove, including the relatively noisy CH-53E helicopter, however, Kirk Moore of the Courier-Post reports that base advocates say the noise level will go down. How so? The Air Force has retired one of its worst noise offenders, the C-141, and stationed the new—and much quieter—C-17 at McGuire. And, the service plans to oust the old E model KC-135 tankers of the New Jersey Air National Guard’s 108th Air Refueling Wing in favor of newer—and quieter—R models. None of this is really news, but it’s an interesting take on the airplane shuffle.
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.
