President Obama has nominated Adm. Cecil D. Haney to succeed Air Force Gen. Robert Kehler as commander of US Strategic Command. Kehler has led STRATCOM—one of the Defense Department’s nine unified commands—since January 2011. Haney, a 1978 Naval Academy graduate, served as STRATCOM’s deputy commander before assuming his current position as commander of US Pacific Fleet. The President also has nominated Vice Adm. Harry Harris Jr. for his fourth star and to succeed Haney as US Pacific Fleet commander. Harris currently serves as the assistant to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. (AFPS report)
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.
