French Lt. Gen. Gilles Desclaux, France’s commander in chief of air defense and air operations, visited Barksdale AFB, La., Jan. 25-28 at the invitation of 8th Air Force Commander Lt. Gen. Robert Elder. The two discussed ongoing operations, including each country’s nuclear mission, along with USAF’s plans to stand up Air Force Global Strike Command. “[The meetings] improved relations and understanding between the two countries as far as military operations in the strategic role and air defense and air operations,” said Col. West Anderson, chief of staff at 8th Air Force. Desclaux also toured the base and got the chance to ride along on a B-52 sortie. He was reportedly impressed with the aircraft’s capabilities. Before departing Barksdale, Desclaux extended an invitation to Elder to pay a reciprocal visit to France to continue the discussions. (Barksdale report by SrA. David Zheng)
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.
