An Air Force Space Command launch team at Vandenberg AFB, Calif., on Aug. 23 conducted a routine test launch of a Minuteman III ICBM, sending the missile with its unarmed re-entry vehicle to a target near the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands. In addition to testing the reliability and accuracy of the missile from the 341st Missile Wing at Malmstrom AFB, Mont., the Missile Defense Agency took the opportunity to gather data for use in future Ballistic Missile Defense System tests without paying for its own test missile. (Vandenberg report; MDA report)
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.
