"Shrouded in Mystery, New Bomber Makes Waves" Topic

"In late spring or early summer, the US Air Force will decide who will build its next-generation bomber. Yet, despite all the hype and public interest, the program remains shrouded in mystery.

The Long Range Strike-Bomber (LRS-B) program is stealthy, literally and figuratively. Few details are actually known about the bomber's capabilities or design. But the program's impact is already being widely felt throughout the Pentagon and its industry partners.

The half a dozen analysts and experts interviewed by Defense News for this piece all agree on one thing: the LRS-B has the chance to shape American military aerospace for the next 20 years. Whichever competitor wins will reap a windfall of development money; the loser could find itself out of the military attack airframe business entirely…"
Full article here
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Amicalement
Armand

" The target price, set by former Defense Secretary Robert Gates, is $550 USD million a copy. To keep the price down,…"

Holy cow, half a billion dollars apiece! I can understand the high cost of the specialized attack bombers like B-2 stealth bomber. because of the development cost and limited production run. However, paying half a billion dollars apiece for front line bomber is stupid. Woulf not a simple cruise missile or a less sophisticated drone aircraft, with a guidance system be more practical? At least you could afford to lose some during combat operations without risking the latest pilot. At that kind of money, you can't even afford to lose one in training, let alone combat.