White serves as the Pentagon’s first Direct Reporting Portfolio Manager for Critical Major Weapon Systems. His role oversees several of the Air Force’s highest-priority acquisition programs.
The B-21 received an additional $4.5 billion in the fiscal 2026 budget. The funding helped the Air Force increase industrial capacity for the stealth bomber by 25%.
White described the B-21 as “the physical proof our warfighting-focused acquisition mindset can and will work.” He said the aircraft was also meeting its planned flight milestones.
“B-21 Raiders will be on the ramp at Ellsworth Air Force Base in 2027,” White said. The Air Force has previously identified 2027 as the planned start of B-21 fielding.
Ellsworth will become the first operational base for the Northrop Grumman-built bomber. The Air Force currently plans to acquire at least 100 aircraft.
Adm. Samuel Paparo said in May that he favored acquiring 200 B-21s. Paparo leads U.S. forces in the Indo-Pacific region.
The Boeing F-47 has entered its engineering and manufacturing development phase. White said the program had reached that stage with “unprecedented maturity.”
He attributed the progress to “extreme teaming” between the Air Force and industry. “The F-47 will fly in this administration,” White said.
That target aligns with the White House’s fiscal 2027 budget request. The April document said the F-47 remained on track for its first flight in 2028.
Boeing Defense Chief Executive Steve Parker has also reported progress on the program. Parker recently said the F-47 “is going very well.”
White also cited the pace of the Collaborative Combat Aircraft program. It moved from first flight to a successful live-fire weapons release within nine months.
The Air Force embedded operators, requirements officials and manufacturers within the program from its earliest stages. That approach was intended to reduce barriers between development, testing and operational requirements.
CCA aircraft will use a government-owned open architecture and mission-autonomy strategy. White said the approach was “killing vendor lock” and preserving competition in the software market.
The uncrewed aircraft are being developed to operate alongside crewed fighters. The open architecture is intended to allow software and autonomy capabilities to evolve without dependence on a single supplier.
