Well, give him credit for candor. “There is no mandate for anybody to do anything,” said Dyke Weatherington, a top Pentagon official, in an Aug. 17 briefing on DOD’s new Unmanned Aerial Systems’ roadmap. Despite the lofty goals laid out in the 200-page plus document, no department is currently charged with making sure goals are met.
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.