Sen. Kit Bond (R-Mo.) last week questioned whether the Air Force has put “excessive focus on high technology to meet threats that are years away, without having planned and prepared for … the war that we’re fighting today.” He was talking mainly about the F-22A Raptor, asserting that “right now, no F-22 is going to be able to fight a terrorist and deliver munitions on target like the F-15 Strike Eagle can, [and] that is a capable, fully affordable, existing aircraft that can be produced.” Air Force Secretary Michael Wynne responded that USAF must have the fifth-generation, stealthy aircraft, like the F-22 and F-35, to be prepared for the brand new surface-to-air missiles “the Russians have been selling Tehran,” and the “pretty good integrated air-defense systems” the North Koreans have bought, and don’t forget, “the Chinese have fortified the entire Strait of Taiwan.” Wynne also noted that the Russians and Chinese are marketing fifth-generation airplanes, including a Tornado look-alike and “an extraordinarily capable Sukhoi,” adding that while neither can match the F-22 or F-35, USAF leaders are “afraid that they do have some capabilities that may exceed some of our aging F-15s and F-16s.”
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.
