Sunday, July 3, 2016

The U.S. Air Force's New Bomber Will Be A Smaller Version Of The B-2


Andrew Davies, Strategist: Air Force's New Bomber: The Mini-Me B-2?

Last year I wrote a series for The Strategist on the USAF’s new bomber program. (Parts one,two and three.) I was sceptical of the possibility of producing a state-of-the-art long range bomber for anything like the proposed unit cost of US$550 million (2010 dollars). The historical trend (see part 2) suggested a significantly higher price. But I also observed that bomber costs ‘hit the wall’ with the B-2 and that new approaches are needed.

We haven’t learned much about the new bomber in the intervening 15 months. We know it will be the B-21 (‘21’ signifying the century rather than a sequential bomber designation). We don’t know much more about costs. But we got to see what it (allegedly) looks like:

Read more ....

More News On Why The B-21's Budget Is A Secret

Air Force Official: Releasing Full B-21 Contract Value 'Too Insightful' For Enemies -- National Defense
Air Force Digs Its Heels In On Bomber Cost Secrecy -- Defense News
B-21 Costs Must Stay Secret, Insists Air Force RCO Head -- Breaking Defense
B-21 bomber spending details to be hidden from american public to prevent providing info to Russia and China -- Next Big Future
The Price of the New B-21 Stealth Bomber? Sorry, That's a Secret. -- National Defense
The Cost Of The B-21 Bomber Is Secret For Security Reasons, Which Is Convenient -- Fox Trot Alpha

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