The Eye of the Beholder: Deputy Secretary of Defense Gordon England took exception with Air Force leaders who would rather retire C-5As and buy additional C-17s with the savings. England told the Senate Armed Services Committee Wednesday, “In my judgment, this will come out that we will upgrade the C-5s.” The Air Force plans to ask lawmakers to remove a Congressional restriction on retiring the C-5As. England admits that “people are still, frankly, looking at this issue,” but he maintains that it’s a question of “timing”—the C-5s are needed.
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.