Is America's Next Generation Bomber Heading For A 'Crash Landing'

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Robert Farley, National Interest: America's LRS-B Stealth Bomber: Headed for a 'Crash Landing'?

The LRS-B seems to have much promise if the price tag does not get out of control, that is.

The earliest discussion of the U.S. Air Force’s Long Range Strike Bomber, or LRS-B, revolved around one talking point: Price. By relying on existing, proven technologies, with incremental, architectural innovation (the assembly of existing technologies in new ways), the U.S. defense industry could supply the Air Force with a next generation long-range bomber aircraft. And the price seemed, if not modest, certainly not extravagant. The LRS-B program promised eighty to 100 bombers at $550 million per plane, more expensive than the F-22 or F-35, but on the lower side of what you might expect for a replacement strategic bomber.

WNU Editor: If history is any indication .... the Pentagon will also fail in keeping the cost of this new program under budget. This is one of those cases where I hope that I am proved wrong, but I doubt that it will happen.