F-35 Program Executive Officer Lt. Gen. Christopher Bogdan said an engine with the same decibel level of noise as another may be perceived as louder if the character of the noise has a higher or deeper pitched tone. During a press briefing on Oct. 30, Bogdan made an analogy to the F-4 Phantom (see F-35 Noise Good to Go). However, the F-35 engine noise study to which he referred did not compare the F-35’s sound to that of the F-4.
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.