The Senate has approved Maj. Gen. Craig Franklin and Maj. Gen. John Hyten to receive their third stars for their new assignments as 3rd Air Force commander at Ramstein AB, Germany, and Air Force Space Command vice commander at Peterson AFB, Colo., respectively. Franklin has been vice director of the Joint Staff in the Pentagon since November 2010. He succeeds Lt. Gen. Frank Gorenc who has led 3rd AF since August 2009. Hyten comes to AFSPC from the Air Force Secretariat’s acquisition office, where he has been director of space programs since September 2010. He replaces Lt. Gen. Michael Basla who has held the command’s No. 2 post since August 2009. In addition to confirming Franklin and Hyten’s nominations on Feb. 17, the Senate cleared the way for Basla’s new assignment as the Air Force’s chief of information dominance and chief information officer. He’ll take over for Lt. Gen. William Lord, who’s served in those roles since July 2009. Lord is retiring, effective Aug. 1, after a 35-year Air Force career.
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.
