How much will the "Long Range Strike-Bomber" project cost American taxpayers?
We already know the final price of the new bomber: 550 million dollars per specimen for a fleet composed of 100 new generation aircraft and a total cost of 55 billion dollars for the acquisition alone.
The Pentagon, in its intentions, wants a new strategic component "until now not even dreamed of by enemies". The new bomber will cost a quarter of the B-2, currently under the USAF. The twenty-one aircraft built and the prohibitive operating costs relegate the B-2 more to propaganda aircraft than to realistic combat aircraft (also because there are no theaters that require the strength, power and technology of the B-2 dissolved the USSR ). However, the fear that causes a redirection, although still small in B-2, is undeniable.
The Long Range Strike-Bomber is considered a top priority for the Air Force. By the end of September we will know the company that will develop the bomber. There are two companies that have reached the award stage: Northrop Grumman and a Boeing / Lockheed Martin team. Both would have proposed flying wings.
The Air Force, in the directives, wants a long-range subsonic bomber with high aerodynamic efficiency, the ability to evade any type of air defense and a virtually zero RCS (Radar Cross Section). The very low radar signature is a fundamental prerequisite of the new bomber. In addition to conventional armament, the future bomber will have the ability to take nuclear warheads at enormous distances. The project is classified by the 2011, but as we know, between development and experimentation and what is shown to public opinion there is a gap of about 20 / 25 years.
The two new USAF prototypes, in fact, would already be plowing the skies for a long time. However, there may have been some calculation problems. In the 2014, in its annual report to the United States Congress, the Air Force estimated the cost of the program, from 2015 to 2025, to 33,1 billion dollars. In the 2015, the amount expected for the 2016-2026 period, has soared to 58,4 billion dollars. In an attempt to explain this discrepancy, Air Force officials said both projections were actually wrong, estimating a ten-year expenditure of 41,7 billion dollars.
(photo: Northrop Grumman)
