At the end of February the US Air Force revealed a concept drawing of its proposed Long Range Strike Bomber. The new bomber looks strikingly like the Air Force’s old bomber:
The as-yet unnamed bomber has been designated the B-21. (The similarity in appearance to the B-2 already has some re-designating it the “B-2.1”.) While that number would Read more
The Associated Press penned a piece saying the US Air Force has been saddled by an aging fleet of aircraft thanks to “past inattention” and a “lack of urgency.”
For decades, the U.S. Air Force has grown accustomed to such superlatives as unrivaled and unbeatable. These days, some of its key combat aircraft are being described with terms like geriatric, or decrepit.
The article then details some of the aircraft the Air Force is flying, including the KC-135, B-52, and U-2 (1950s), and F-15, F-16, and A-10 (1970s). Modern era Read more
Despite ongoing budget issues, the US Air Force intends to develop and field a new bomber colloiqually known as the Long Range Strike Aircraft.
The Air Force has already set aside $292 million in research dollars for the bomber in their fiscal 2013 budget request. The service plans to spend $6.3 billion into the effort over the next five years. Once developed, the new bomber will replace B-1Bs and B-2s. The new plane will be designed to evade advanced aerial defense systems, employ stealth Read more