Northrup Grumman Wins Air Force Contract to Build Next Generation Bomber
It will be interesting to see what aircraft Northrup Grumman comes up with. I wonder if a drone capability was even considered?:
Northrop Grumman has won the coveted Air Force contract to build the next-generation stealth bomber, the Pentagon announced Tuesday.
Northrop Grumman beat out a competing Long Range Strike Bomber design offered by Boeing and Lockheed Martin to build up to 100 new aircraft set to reconstitute the nation’s aging fleet of 159 conventional and nuclear bombers.
The program is highly classified and the Air Force did not offer many details on the design or a prototype illustration of the new bomber. [Stars & Stripes]
GIKorea: ” I wonder if a drone capability was even considered?”
At a half-billion dollars a pop, you wouldn’t want these operating as drones. Also, the nuke delivery capability would require actual human beings to be on the plane to maintain custodial and operational control over the weapons.
It’s worth noting the newest B-52 was built in 1963. Many upgrades to be sure; but it’ll be difficult to replace. Many others have tried and failed. 💡