There’s been some shifting of members on and new members added to the Senate Armed Services Committee. Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) switched from chairman of the strategic forces panel to chairman of the emerging threats and capabilities panel. Replacing him on strategic forces is Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.), who turned over chairmanship duties for the personnel panel to Sen. Jim Webb (D-Va.). New committee member Sen. George LeMieux (R-Fla.) is now ranking member of the emerging threats panel. The former leaders of emerging threats, Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.), chairman, and Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), ranking member, have taken the leadership positions on the seapower panel. (Committee release)
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.
