Several Air Force Research Lab personnel received awards during the Black Engineer of the Year Conference in Baltimore, Md., according to a Feb. 25 release. Honored with a career achievement award, Lloyd Reshard is the Chief of Flight Vehicles Integration Branch at Eglin AFB, Fla. Named most promising engineer, Shawnee Pacley is a materials engineer in the Materials and Manufacturing Directorate at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio. Three AFRL personnel were named as modern day technology award winners: Capt. Rico Cody, chief of Tactical Data Links at Rome, N.Y.; Capt. Jermaine Sailsman, currently serving as executive officer to the director of the Space Vehicles Directorate, Kirtland AFB, N.M.; and Carla Willis, an electronic engineer with the Munitions Directorate at Eglin. (Wright-Patterson report by Laura Mays)
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.