The Air Force believes that the prep work has been done on building the next long range stealth bomber and that it’s time to start “heavy lifting” on the project within the next year.
“We’re about ready to enter into the next phase of the bomber. We’ve spent the last couple of years refining the requirements and maturing the technology. Within the next year we will down-select to one contractor and then start the heavy lifting of building the first bomber and testing,” Lt. Gen. Ellen Pawlikowski, military deputy for Air Force acquisition, told Military.com on Monday.
The announcement was made at the Air Force Association Air and Space Conference at National Harbor, Maryland.
The Air Force aims to have 80 to 100 new bombers in its fleet by the mid-2020s, the defense website reported. Each plane in the Long-Range Strike Bomber program (LRS-B) is expected to cost roughly $550 million.
“We have spent a lot of time understanding what is in the scope of technology. The bomber reflects the need for stealth, the need for speed, the need for agility as well as the value of situational awareness and sensors. We are going to exploit the best of the technology that we can bear within an affordable price,” Lt. Pawlikowski told Military.com.
The website added that officials want the new aircraft to be nuclear-capable and have the ability to reach anywhere on the planet within hours. Manned and unmanned versions of the bomber are also likely to be engineered.
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• Douglas Ernst can be reached at dernst@washingtontimes.com.
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