
As the defense community awaits the release of the Pentagon's fiscal 2026 budget in the next month or so, the Department of the Air Force may stand to gain a significant funding boost, as DoD seeks to deter China. "It's our airpower, the next generation of it and our ability to project it that will be the decisive factor in whether or not we truly deter our peer [adversaries] of the 21st century," Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Wednesday…