In a
ddition to the Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve Command Modular Airborne Firefighting System-equipped aircraft sent to help battle California wildfires, the Air Force is providing airlift, aircraft command and control, and medical evacuation assistance. The 97th Air Mobility Wing at Altus AFB, Okla., dispatched a C-17 to San Antonio to pick up Army North personnel and Army equipment for transport to California. Air Forces North at Tyndall AFB, Fla., sent an eight-person air component coordination element to Air Force operations. News 14 in North Carolina reports that the Air Force has sent airmen from the 43rd Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron at Pope AFB, N.C., to set up a hospital and help medevac patients elsewhere, if necessary.
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.
