"Air Force Long Range Strike Bomber" Topic

"In early July, the U.S. Air Force is expected to issue a Request for Proposals to design, develop, and build a fleet of 80-100 new long-range strike systems to be fielded in the mid-2020s. Although long-range strike systems are typically thought of as bomber aircraft, the more general description is used because it is not yet clear whether the proposed Long Range Strike Bomber (LRS-B) is to be a single platform or a group of smaller systems working in concert.

Most of the current U.S. bomber fleet is composed of 76 B-52 Stratofortresses, which average 50 years in age, and whose ability to penetrate modern air-defense systems is increasingly challenged. The 80-100 LRS-Bs would replace the B-52s and likely some of the 63 B-1s still in service (with an average age of 28 years.) The B-52s and B-1s are currently projected to remain in service through 2040, which would be consistent with a mid-2020s introduction of the first LRS-Bs.

The Long Range Strike Bomber program began in FY2012, replacing the Air Force Next Generation Bomber program, an earlier effort to develop a manned bomber. While it will initially be deployed as a manned aircraft, LRS-B could eventually become optionally manned, with the aircraft operated remotely for some operations. Air Force officials have stated that LRS-B would be manned for nuclear missions…"
Full article here
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Amicalement
Armand

The U.S. Air Force Wants A New Bomber
(with no pilot)

"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 USD 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…"
Full article here
link

Amicalement
Armand