Air Force and Army leadership have formally signed a memorandum of agreement, setting out the rules of the road for Joint Base San Antonio, an amalgam of Ft. Sam Houston and Lackland and Randolph Air Force Bases that will be supported by the newly established 502nd Air Base Wing at Randolph. According to Clarence Maxwell, San Antonio Joint Program Office deputy director, the most challenging element of the MOA negotiations was “allocating expenses” that derive from all of the on-going BRAC actions in San Antonio. He explained, “No other joint base is experiencing the kind of growth that is occurring at our San Antonio installations.” He noted, too, that Joint Base San Antonio, expected to be fully operational Oct. 1, 2010, will be “the largest joint base with many varied military units to support.” (SAJPO report by Ron Rogers)
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.
