Thursday, April 23, 2015

No One Believes That The Next U.S. Bomber Will Be Built On Budget And On Time

(Click on Image to Enlarge)

Bloomberg: Almost Nobody Believes the U.S. Air Force Can Build an Affordable Bomber

The last time the U.S. Air Force developed a stealth bomber, the planes cost $2.2 billion each and couldn’t sit out in the rain.

The B-2 bomber, whose sensitive coating helps make it hard to detect on enemy radar, must be sheltered from the elements in climate-controlled hangars at Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri. None of the 20 planes is based overseas, where it could respond faster in a crisis.

Now, with little public scrutiny or debate, the Air Force is developing a next-generation bomber that it promises to build with advanced technology at a fraction of the B-2’s cost. Few outside the Pentagon take the advertised sticker price of $550 million per plane, or $55 billion for a planned fleet of 100, at face value.

WNU Editor: I am definitely one of those who does not believe that it is possible.

No comments: