The Air Force’s only forensic toxicology drug testing laboratory recently opened its doors at Lackland AFB, Tex., a part of Joint Base San Antonio. The new Headquarters Air Force Drug Testing Laboratory, a 22,000-square-foot building, is one of just six such labs in the Defense Department. Its mission is to deter illicit drug use in the service. Per BRAC 2005, the lab moved into the new facility at Lackland from Brooks City-Base, also in Texas. “The project is the closest thing I have ever experienced to building an airplane, in the air, with passengers on board, while flight attendants serve coffee,” said Lt. Col. Kabrena Rodda, the lab’s commander. The building came in $3.5 million under budget and went online on June 30, a month ahead of schedule. (Lackland report by Maj. Travis Herbelin)
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.