Operational Shake-Up: Retired Lt. Gen. Robert Elder said officials in Pacific Air Forces are “very interested” in looking at the “Effective Warfighting in a Contest Enviornment” study, slated for completion in February, as they try to figure out how to continue using remotely piloted aircraft in contested airspace. Speaking at AFA’s Air & Space Conference in National Harbor, Md., Sept. 18, Elder said the Air Force needs “to see if there is a different way to operate RPAs that will allow us to effectively operate even though the environment is degraded.” He said he expects the study to “shake up the way we look at things from an operational level,” specifically in how the Air Force conducts command and control and operates its air operations centers.
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.