Retired Gen. Larry Welch, former Air Force Chief of Staff, was expected to brief Air Force Secretary Michael Donley Wednesday on the study that Welch has done regarding options for future space launch, including a potential way forward for the evolved expendable launch vehicle program. “He’ll bring in some ideas on how we can further stabilize our planning and acquisition of space launch vehicles,” Donley said during a speech on Capitol Hill Wednesday. Saying he was reluctant to steal Welch’s thunder by revealing “pre-brief” details, Donley would only hint that “recommendations for how to do that might involve bigger builds” of rockets.
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.