A duo of US Air Forces in Europe C-130s on Oct. 2 returned an estimated 80 African Union peacekeepers from the Darfur region of the Sudan to Rwanda, where the troops are the first of 200 scheduled for redeployment by the 86th Air Expeditionary Group. More than 150 airmen from Ramstein AB, Germany, are participating in the airlift—part of a NATO effort to support the African Union’s expanded mission. The 86th is also airlifting approximately 550 troops to the El-Fashir airstrip in Darfur, the third movement of African Union peacekeepers by the US to the region.
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.