[The U.S. Air Force admitted that it had to "remove parts" to maintain the operation of the B-52 bombers due to a shortage of spare parts] On September 17, General Stephen Davis, commander of the U.S. Air Force Global Strike Command, said that a serious shortage of spare parts has led to a decline in the combat readiness of the U.S. B-52 bombers, causing the aircraft to accumulate in maintenance plants, and the military had to remove some parts of the aircraft. "There are about 17 bombers sitting in the repair shop simply because of a lack of parts: new aircraft are being shipped there to be stripped for parts," Davis explained at the Air and Space Association (AFA) conference. "It's the same situation at the bases: Each service has two or three aircraft that have been acting as 'parts donors' for years. The root cause is a supply crisis."