Brig. Gen. Mary F. O’Brien has been selected to the grade of major general and for assignment as commander of 25th Air Force, Air Combat Command, at JBSA-Lackland, Texas, according to a Pentagon release. O’Brien currently serves as director of intelligence for Headquarters US Cyber Command at Fort George G. Meade, Md. She will replace Maj. Gen. B.J. Shwedo, who has led the numbered Air Force since August 2015. The Air Force redesignated the Air Force Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance Agency as the 25th Air Force in 2014 to oversee ISR matters.
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.