Backers Of The U.S. Air Force's Secret B-21 Bomber Are Worried That Congress May Change The Program

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

Loren Thompson, Forbes: McCain Panel Probe Into Cost Of Secret B-21 Bomber Could Force Restructure

The Air Force is developing a secret bomber designed to hold targets at risk anywhere in the world. The bomber will be able to take out hardened underground command centers, mobile missile launchers, and a variety of other hard-to-target assets, relying on a combination of low-observable (“stealth”) and electronic-warfare technologies to safely penetrate defended airspace. It will even be able to deliver nuclear weapons while similar devices are detonating nearby.

The Air Force really needs the new bomber, which it has designated the B-21. Its bomber fleet has grown decrepit with age while potential adversaries like Russia and China have greatly improved their defenses — and are selling the latest “integrated air defense systems” to clients such as Iran. If the Air Force doesn’t get better bombers relatively soon, its ability to deter nuclear war and successfully conduct conventional military campaigns will decay in the face of rising threats.

Read more ....

Update: Keep It Secret: Congress Should Back Off the B-21 Program (Mackenzie Eaglen, Defense One)

WNU Editor: The U.S. Congress has a constitutional right and obligation to oversee how the public purse is spent, and they have every right to make sure that the contractors who have been given the B-21 contract respect that promises and commitments that they have made.