Capt. Jesus Villamor, flying an obsolete Boeing P-26, manages to shoot down a Japanese bomber over the Philippines. This was the only aerial victory credited to a pilot while flying the “Peashooter,” the AAF’s first monoplane fighter.
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.
