Retired Lt. Col. Charles Dryden, 87, a member of the Tuskegee Airmen, died June 24 in Atlanta. He was one of the first Tuskegee pilots to lead airmen of the all-black 99th Fighter Squadron into battle against the Germans in World War II. Later in the war, he trained Tuskegee pilots. He remained in the Air Force until 1962, seeing additional combat action in Korea, amassing 4,000 total flying hours. He then went on to work for then-Lockheed Aeronautical Systems in Marietta, Ga. (For more read the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Macon Telegraph)
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.