The head of US Air Forces in Europe, Gen. Tom Hobbins, told airmen at Incirlik AB, Turkey, on Dec. 20, “I don’t like the fact that our people are working an average of 51 hours a week.” He was talking about the Air Force plan to cut some 40,000 personnel and encouraging all the airmen to “focus on how we can streamline our processes.”
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.
