A KC-135 tanker with the Wisconsin Air National Guard’s 128th Air Refueling Wing had to return to its home station at Mitchell airport in Milwaukee on Tuesday due to engine trouble, according to local Milwaukee press reports citing airport and wing officials. The aircraft was en route to a refueling track near Duluth, Minn., to support Air Guard F-16s from Duluth when the aircrew lost the function of one inboard engine due to an apparent compressor failure. The pilots turned the KC-135 around and headed back to Milwaukee, safely landing the aircraft with three engines. None of the four airmen onboard was injured. (WISN.com report and MSNBC 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.
