Does The US Air Force Need A New Non-Stealthy Bomber

A B-1 Lancer and a B-52 Stratofortress fly over Barksdale Air Force Base, La., in 2015. U.S. Air Force / Tech. Sgt. Ted Daigle

Maj. Shane Praiswater, Defense One: The Air Force Needs a New Non-Stealthy Bomber

There are important things the B-1 and B-52 do that the B-21 won’t.

In 1957, the U.S. military began to worry that the Soviet Union might have more strategic bombers than the United States. That fear of a “bomber gap” turned out to be baseless, but today, a dangerous gap is emerging between the long-range strike capacity America needs and what will be available once today’s bombers retire. If not addressed, this new bomber gap might leave the United States and its allies more vulnerable to aggression much sooner than people realize.

While China and Russia aggressively pursue anti-access/area-denial strategies, the ability of bombers to employ standoff weapons will remain a linchpin of any U.S. strategy. In a near-peer conflict, how well the United States can employ massive waves of bombers might very well be the difference between victory and defeat. Non-stealth bombers such as the B-1 and B-52 have an important role to play in A2/AD scenarios because they can carry so many standoff weapons.

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WNU Editor: The US Air Force still has a few years to decide on a new non-stealthy bomber. But they better move quickly. The B-1 and B-52 have only a few years left.

The U.S. Air Force Bomber Fleet Is Disappearing

B-1, B-2, B-52 Bombers in flight. U.S. Air Force courtesy photo by Sagar Pathak

Forbes: U.S. Must Invest More In Its Geriatric Bomber Force

This 4th of July, Americans witnessed flyovers of our airpower. It was a far cry from the airpower displays over Washington, D.C., that I viewed as a boy on national holidays in the late 1950s. Then, dozens of B-47 bombers literally cast a shadow over the viewers. On this Fourth, only three bombers were on display­­—a B-52 built in the Kennedy years; a B-1B built during the Reagan administration; and our “newest” bomber, the B-2, over 30 years of age.

To put the current bomber deficit situation in historical context, in 1957 the Air Force had 2,334 bombers in its inventory; in 1990 it had 411; the 2021 budget plans for 140. Yes, times have changed, but arguably the security challenges for the foreseeable future are much more complex and challenging than ever before.

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WNU Editor: From 2,334 bombers in 1957 to 140 bombers today. That says it all.

U.S. Air Force Global Strike Command Wants To Make Its Bomber Fleet More Lethal

B-2, B-1, B-52

Business Insider/Military.com: The head of Air Force Global Strike Command wants to make US bombers even more lethal

* The head of US Air Force Global Strike Command wants the Air Force's bombers to be able to carry more weapons even as the bomber fleet undergoes retirements and cuts.
* There are opportunities to keep some aircraft, such as the B-1B Lancer, relevant by "increasing our long-range strike," Gen. Timothy Ray said Thursday.

With planned cuts and retirements coming to the US Air Force's bomber inventory, the head of Air Force Global Strike Command wants to make the remaining aircraft even more lethal in the future.

The Air Force plans to have a total of 165 to 175 bombers in its inventory once the B-21 Long Range Strike Bomber comes online.

Gen. Timothy Ray has advocated for a larger fleet — roughly 220 — but until the B-21 Raider enters service in the latter part of the 2020s or early 2030s, he wants to make sure the current bomber fleets have the capability to carry a bigger variety of loads.

There are opportunities to keep some airframes, such as the B-1B Lancer, relevant by "increasing our long-range strike," Ray said during a phone call hosted by the Defense Writers Group.

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WNU Editor: Here is one way the US bomber fleet can be made more lethal .... The B-1 Bomber Might Start Slinging Hypersonic Missiles (Popular Mechanics).

The U.S. Air Force Wants A Bigger And Better Bomber Fleet

Warrior Maven: Air Force "Bomber Vector" Strategy Sees New Attack Weapons, Tactics

The Air Force’s Bomber Vector calls for wide range of new technologies & attack weapons

The Air Force’s recently released Bomber Vector calls for wide range of new technologies for the fleet - to include newer stealth materials, faster computer processors, upgraded weapons and new sensors to ensure the force will still be able to launch attacks in more advanced, future high-threat scenarios spanning into the 2050s.

The new Air Force bomber fleet plan, released in conjunction with the service’s 2019 Budget request, also seeks a larger bomber fleet and maps a modernization and production trajectory for the introduction of the emerging B-21 Raider in the mid-2020s.

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WNU Editor: A good review on the future of the U.S. Air Force bomber fleet.

America's Long-Range Bomber Fleet Is Declining Fast

B-1B B-2 and B-52. Wikicommons

Gregory Noddin Poulin, The Hill: The Troubling State of the Air Force's Long-Range Bomber Fleet

The latest installment of the Republican presidential debate last week saw an unlikely object become the scorn of GOP attacks: the B-52 strategic bomber.

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush began the assault, lamenting the U.S. military has “a lack of readiness that is quite scary. We have planes that…Harry Truman inaugurated, the B-52.” Followed soon thereafter by retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson, who said, “our Military needs to be upgraded…Our B-52 bombers -- 50 years old…You know, if we don't get the military right nothing else matters.” Finally, also speaking to military readiness, Sen. Marco Rubio (Fla.) added, “The air component…needs to be modernized. The B-52…is an outdated model that was flown by the grandparents of people that are flying it now.”

WNU Editor: If the past few years of U.S. Air Force procurements is any indication .... I have no reason to believe that the U.S. Air Force will do a great job in getting this project off the ground .... in fact .... I have more confidence that they will "screw it up".

A Graphic On America's Bomber Fleet

(Click on Image to Enlarge)

Washington Post: An aging bomber fleet

The Air Force is set to award a contract in the coming months for what it’s calling the Long Range Strike Bomber, which would replace some of the aging planes currently in use. While details about the new bomber are classified, here’s a look at the current fleet.

WNU Editor: Only 159 bombers in the entire fleet .... I thought there was more.

The U.S. Air Force's Development Of A New Bomber Continues

B-1 bomber

Top Secret Air Force Bomber Program Moves Forward -- National Defense

It is a program shrouded in secrecy.

Air Force officials over the past few years have been happy to talk publicly about how much they need a new long-range strike bomber, but have given it a “secret” classification and share few other details.

But after a half-decade of discussions about what the aircraft should be in unclassified settings, 2014 has seen some revelations and movement in the program.

A request for proposals was released in July and two competitors are expected to respond, a Boeing-Lockheed Martin team and Northrop Grumman.

Gen. Michael Hostage, commander of the Air Force air combat command, after the RFP was released, reiterated what has been said before.

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My Comment: I do not know where they will get the money to manufacture this new line of bombers .... but the work continues.

The U.S. Air Force Wants A New Bomber

An artists conception of Boeing and Lockheed Martin’s 2009 bid for the Next Generation Bomber

U.S. Air Force Moves Forward With Super-Secret Next Generation Bomber That Could One Day Fly Without A Pilot -- Daily Mail

* US air force has asked top defense contractors to submit proposals
* The project has been a classified program since 2011
* Hopes to procure 80 and 100 of the new bombers costing $550 million each
* The planes will be certified to carry nuclear weapons

The U.S. Air Force is moving forward with plans for a super-secret next generation bomber that could one day fly without a pilot.

It has asked top defense contractors to submit proposals for its new Long Range Strike Bomber (LRS-B) program.

Not much is known about the project to develop the bat-winged stealth bombers - it has been run as a classified program since 2011.

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More News On The U.S. Air Force's RFP For A New Bomber

Air Force releases RFP for new bomber -- UPI
U.S. Air Force Releases RFP for Long-Range Bomber -- AIN Online
Air Force seeks bids for $550M next generation stealth bomber -- FOX News
Air Force seeks proposals for next generation bomber -- al.com
Boeing-Lockheed, Northrop Eye USAF LRS-Bomber Contract -- Defense World

Will The U.S. Air Force's New Bomber Program Fly?

New Bomber? Image from Wareye

Will The $55 Billion Bomber Program Fly? -- iWatch News

he Air Force accelerates work on a new multi-billion dollar strategic bomber despite the critics.

When the Obama administration dispatched three B-2 bombers from a Missouri air base on March 19 last year to cross the ocean and reach Libya, it put roughly $9 billion worth of America’s most prized military assets into the air. The bat-shaped black bombers, finely machined to elude radar and equipped with bombs weighing a ton apiece, easily demolished dozens of concrete aircraft shelters near Libya’s northern coast.

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My Comment: What's my take on this "new" bomber project .... Eric Palmer sums it up perfectly.

How The Air Force Sold Its Risky New $55 Billion Bomber

A B-2, B-52, and B-1

Bombs Away: How The Air Force Sold Its Risky New $55 Billion Plane -- Danger Room

In an instant, four tons of steel and explosives slammed into the 522-foot-long warship Schenectady, blowing it apart in a cataclysm of smoke, dust and sound. Overhead, a pair of U.S. Air Force Boeing B-52 bombers orbited, one of them having just released four laser-guided bombs. The huge, eight-engine warplanes had flown directly from Louisiana to attack the decommissioned Navy landing ship as part of an exercise near Hawaii on Nov. 23, 2004.

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My Comment: What struck me in this report was this tidbit of information ....

.... Today the Air Force possesses just 60 B-1s and 20 B-2s. The 70 surviving B-52s still form the backbone of the bomber fleet, more than 50 years after they entered service.

In short .... the U.S. Air Force has only 150 bombers in their inventory.

U.S. Air Force Explains Why They Need A New Long Range Bomber

Aging B-2 Technology Highlights Need for New Bomber: Schwartz -- Defense News

The U.S. Air Force’s B-2 stealth bomber is going to lose its ability to penetrate into high-threat environments, which is part of the reason the air arm wants a new long-range strike bomber (LRS-B), the service’s top uniformed officer told Congress.

“The technology on which they were designed with respect to signature management … is ‘80s vintage,” Air Force Chief Gen. Norton Schwartz said before the House Armed Services Committee on Feb. 28. “And the reality is that the B-2 over time is going to become less survivable in contested airspace.”

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Update #1: Air Force Swears: Our Next Bomber Isn’t Too Big To Fail -- The Danger Room
Update #2: Schwartz defends cost of next-gen bomber -- Air Force Times

My Comment: The $550 million cost per bomber is not believable right now .... the U.S. Air Force will need to provide more info.

A New U.S. Bomber In The Works

New Bomber Program 'Underway' But Cloaked in Secrecy -- Aol Defense

ORLANDO: America's new long-range bomber program is "underway," will involve somewhere between 80 and 100 planes and will be delivered sometime in the mid-2020's.

"And that's about all we're saying," Air Force Secretary Mike Donley told reporters. It's been known for some time that the bombers will not fly alone but will be part of a family of systems that may include UAVs and other systems.

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Update: AFA: New bomber program ‘underway’ -- DoD Buzz

My Comment: 80 to 100 planes that will cost at least $550 million each .... yeah right.

What Will America's Next Generation Bomber Look Like

Beyond the B2 Nick Kaloterakis

What We Know So Far About the Successor to the B-2 Stealth Bomber -- Popular Science

Invisible warriors: the engineering breakthroughs that will make everything from planes to subs to soldiers...disappear.

The youngest active stealth bomber in the U.S. turns 15 this year, and the other 19 B-2s in the Air Force fleet are nearly five years older. Meanwhile, the integrated defense systems they face have become much more sophisticated. Multi-static radar, which is now relatively common, is so sensitive that it can detect certain stealth craft. To stay ahead of such defense systems, the Air Force has budgeted $3.7 billion over the next five years to develop a successor to the B-2 that could be active by 2020. Actual designs of the new bomber are classified, but some secrets are already out.

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My Comment: With the buzz-saw being directed at US defense programs going full tilt .... I doubt that we will see one of these bombers built in my lifetime.

Will The U.S. Air Force Have A New Bomber In The Future?

US Bomber Plan Questioned -- David Axe, The Diplomat

The US military’s plan to defeat Chinese air defences could be doomed by budget cuts, just a year after it was conceived.

The so-called AirSea Battle concept, developed by US Navy and Air Force planners starting last year, anticipates Air Force bombers and Navy submarines working together to ‘roll back’ the radars and Surface-to-Air Missiles of coastal powers such as China and Iran.

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More News On America's Future Air Force Bomber

Can the Air Force Afford the New Bomber? -- Defense Tech
USAF's New Bomber will be a Single Airframe with Multiple Mission Capabiltiy -- Daily Tech
Air Force Argument for New Bomber Bombs, Top General Says -- Time

My Comment: To understand why the Air Force wants a fleet of new bombers, read this post.

How Just Five U.S. Bombers Destroyed 150 Targets In Libya In A Few Days

B-2, B-1, B-52

Bombers Over Libya -- Air Force Magazine

A quick symphony of planning allowed USAF’s heavy bombers to strike 150 targets in Libya.

On March, five Air Force bombers—three B-2s and two B-1Bs—attacked targets in Libya as part of NATO’s mission to protect civilians from government attack in that country’s uprising and civil war.

On the first night of the operation, March 19, three B-2s of the 509th Bomb Wing struck 45 targets at an airfield in Ghardabiya, Libya. Photos of the airfield released by the Pentagon the next day showed hardened aircraft shelters at that base struck with great precision. All were collapsed or showed blackened trails emanating from their entrances, confirming that whatever was inside exploded and burned.

The B-2s flew directly from Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri and recovered there as well, as they had done in previous operations in Afghanistan and Serbia.

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Update: Two Bombers, 24 Hours, 100 Libyan Targets Destroyed -- Danger Room

My Comment: Now we know why bomber supporters are so keen on keeping a bomber fleet.

Does The U.S. Need A New Long-Range Bomber?

Boeing's Phantom Ray drone sits on a runway at Edwards Air Force Base. Defense analysts think the Pentagon might order a fleet of new bombers that resemble it. (Tony Landis, Boeing)

Pentagon Moves on New Long-Range Bomber -- Global Security Newswire

The U.S. Defense Department has discreetly been discussing with major military contractors plans to develop a new generation of long-range nuclear bomber aircraft, the Los Angeles Times reported on Sunday (see GSN, Nov. 5, 2010).

The Pentagon would like to see the new fleet of nuclear-capable bombers in place no later than the middle of the next decade. The sought-after fleet would number between 80 to 100 aircraft that could be flown remotely or by a human pilot.

Currently, the youngest long-range bombers in the U.S. nuclear arsenal are more than 10 years old.

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More News On U.S. Plans To Develop A Long Range Bomber

Pentagon weapons buyer quietly visits California to discuss bomber planes -- L.A. Times
Exclusive: Pentagon arms chief, industry in talks on bomber -- Reuters
$55 Billion Pentagon Contract Could Boon SoCal Aerospace Sector -- Courier/CNS
Pentagon moves on new long-range bomber -- Government Executive/Global Security Newswire
US to build new radar-evading, long-range bombers: report -- Global Times/Xinhuanet
The Ultimate Guarantor of U.S. Security -- Defpro

U.S. Air Force Expects To Develop A New Long Range Bomber

U.S. Air Force To Work On First New Bomber Since B-2 -- San Francisco Chronicle, Bloomberg

Sept. 14 (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. Air Force expects to start working on a new bomber in the next budget, the first such warplane since Northrop Grumman Corp.'s B-2 Spirit was developed almost three decades ago.

"It's my conviction that the nation benefits from a long- range strike capability," General Norton Schwartz, chief of staff for the Air Force, said today at the annual Air & Space Conference in National Harbor, Maryland.

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More News On U.S. Intent To Develop A New Long Range Bomber

US Air Force takes 'cautious' approach to new bomber -- AFP
U.S. Needs New Long-Range Bomber: Analyst -- Defense News
USAF Needs New Long-range Bomber: Schwartz -- Defense News
Schwartz: Air Force needs new long-range bomber -- Air Force Times
USAF Says New Bomber is Critical for U.S. Defense -- Mil-Tech
Bomber Focus Shifts From Nukes -- DoD Buzz
USAF Says New Bomber is Critical for U.S. Defense -- Daily Tech

The Once and Future Warplane: Bomber Tech Picture Gallery

Key Tech Improvement: The main difference between the new bomber and the older fleet is its UAV characteristics, but the bomber will also be built with more advanced stealth materials.

From Popular Mechanics:

For almost a century, military bombers have played a significant role in turning the tides of world wars. These heavyweights often provide critical firepower in otherwise unreachable areas. Despite the pullback of manned bombers in Afghanistan, the military continues to look toward a future of more reliable, accurate and effective bombers. The 2018 Bomber, some experts believe, is the answer.

The 2018 Bomber, now being developed by Boeing and Lockheed Martin, will be a long-range, penetrating heavy bomber that is flown autonomously by ground personnel. On April 6, 2009, the Obama administration announced (pdf) that the 2018 Bomber, also known as the Next Generation Bomber, would not make the cut for the defense budget. But just last week, long-term funding may have been secured with a bill passed by the Senate Armed Services Committee.

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