The Air National Guard’s 183rd Fighter Wing, Springfield, Ill., loses it F-16 fighters under BRAC 2005, and, like other states that got BRACed, it wants to line up a new mission. Illinois has one advantage over many other states because BRAC made the Springfield facility the site of a new Centralized Engine Repair Facility for F-16 engines. Still, Col. Michael Meyer, the 183rd’s commanding officer, told the State Journal-Register that possible missions include operating Predator UAVs (we’ve heard this before), training foreign pilots, trading their F-16s for F-15s (that would be sour news to reserve units giving up their F-15s under BRAC), or building bombs.
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.