We definitely want to go back to work,” Beem said. “We want to build these planes. I take a lot of pride in what I do.” ...

I’ve seen Agency birds parked in plain sight; these two Basler BT-67s in Tullahoma—matte-gray, unmarked, and papered to a Delaware cutout—fit the pattern.

Some retired jets get a second chance at flight, but the rest are picked apart by a vast, little-known industry that turns ...