An Air Force KC-135 tanker crashed on Friday in northern Kyrgyzstan, announced officials with the 376th Air Expeditionary Wing at the Transit Center at Manas near Bishkek in the Central Asian nation. The status of the three crewmembers is unknown, they said in a release. Emergency response crews are on scene, they said. The tanker and crew are assigned to Manas, which is a major air hub for sustaining coalition operations in Afghanistan.
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.
