Officials 
at Dyess AFB, Tex., last week inaugurated a $21 million large-aircraft hangar that is capable of simultaneously servicing the base’s B-1B bombers and C-130J airlifters. “A house should reflect those who live in it” said Col. Walter Ward, commander of Dyess’ 317th Airlift Group, during the Sept. 5 ribbon-cutting ceremony in thanking Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R) for her support in securing funding for the project, reported Abiliene’s Reporter News. “Our house now truly reflects our airmen, thanks to you,” he added. The modern, two-bay, 57,000-square-foot facility replaces several 50-year-old structures, according to the newspaper. It incorporates specialized ventilation and a bisecting bay isolation firewall, according to base officials. The hangar will support the group’s C-130Js and the B-1s of the 7th Bomb Wing. (See also Dyess report by A1C Charles V. Rivezzo.)
While U.S. defense officials have spent much of the past decade warning that China is the nation’s pacing threat and its People’s Liberation Army represents an urgent threat in the Indo-Pacific, several defense researchers are skeptical that the PLA has the human capital, the structural ability, or the political appetite…