The Air Force completed 19,600 intra-theater sorties, delivered 183,600 tons of cargo, and moved more than 441,000 passengers for Operation Enduring Freedom from the time President Obama announced the surge of 30,000 troops to Afghanistan last December to the end of July. These data come straight from Air Mobility Command officials. In the month of May alone, USAF carried 68,000 passengers in support of operations in Afghanistan. Further, during the first seven months of 2010, 186,000 more passengers were moved than in those same seven months last year. (Scott report by MSgt. Scott T. Sturkol)
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.
