During a May 19 House Armed Services Committee budget hearing, several lawmakers questioned Gen. Norton Schwartz, Chief of Staff, about curtailment of F-22 production at only 187 aircraft and insistence by DOD officials that those 187 aircraft met military need. In one instance, Schwartz’s response was short and sweet: “Two forty-three is the right number and 187 is the affordable force.”
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.