Air Force Special Operations Command sent a CV-22B tiltrotor aircraft from the United States to Mildenhall AB, Britain, for beddown there as part of the 7th Special Operations Squadron. This CV-22 is the first of 10 that the squadron will operate, according to a June 26 command release. All 10 are scheduled to be in place by the end of 2014. The vehicle left for Mildenhall on June 21. Also on that day, Mildenhall officials held the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the base’s new CV-22 simulator facility. (Includes Hurlburt report by SrA. Laura Yahemiak and Mildenhall report by Karen Abeyasekere)
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.
