An artist rendering shows the first image of a new Northrop Grumman Corp long-range bomber B21 in this image released on February 26, 2016. REUTERS/U.S. AIR FORCE/HANDOUT VIA REUTERS
Martin Matishak, Fiscal Times: How Will the Air Force Pay for its Budget-Busting Next-Generation Bomber?
Top Air Force official on Wednesday floated a potentially controversial scheme to pay for the service’s pricey next-generation bomber, one that could see the entire Defense Department fund the expensive effort.
The estimated $100 billion lifetime price tag for the nuclear-capable aircraft, recently designated the B-21, should be folded into a nuclear deterrence fund created to pay for the Navy’s next ballistic missile submarine fleet, Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James suggested during a House Armed Services Committee hearing on Wednesday, according to Defense News.
James went further, suggesting that the cost of the replacement for the Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) should also be included in the currently Navy-specific account, formally known as the “National Sea-Based Deterrence Fund.”
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Update: Air Force Asks Congress for Strategic Deterrence Fund for B-21 Bomber, GBSD (Defense News)
WNU Editor: I have trouble seeing US Senator John McCain .... a persistent opponent of the current B-21 plan .... accepting such a proposal .... Air Force Secretary Warns of Consequences if McCain Blocks B-21 (Defense News).
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