Should acquisition of Air Force C-27J transports fall victim to the budget axe, that would have a “huge impact” on the Army’s CH-47 Chinook transport helicopters, said Lt. Gen. Jack Stultz, Army Reserve chief. The C-27s were “designed to take the load off of our CH-47s,” Stultz told the House Armed Service Committee’s tactical air and land forces panel Wednesday. The CH-47s are some of the land service’s “highest op tempo” assets, he said. “We are flying the blades off of those things. And if we don’t get the C-27s to take a load off of there, it is going to have a significant impact on our CH-47 fleet,” he added.
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.