Addressing the Air Force Association yesterday in Washington, Defense Secretary Robert Gates made a pitch of sortsfor a futuristic new bomber. But he made it clear that the Air Force would have to figure out how to do it on the cheap.
In his speech, Gates emphasized his commitment to an "airborne long-range strike capability" -- defense-speak for a future bomber. So what would this aircraft look like? Gates offered few details, but he did suggest that the next-generation bomber force might include robotic aircraft.
"What we must not do is repeat what happened with our last manned bomber," he said. "By the time the research, development, and requirements processes ran their course, the aircraft, despite its great capability, turned out to be so expensive – $2 billion each in the case of the B-2 – that less than one-sixth of the planned fleet of 132 was ever built. Looking ahead, it makes little sense to pursue a future bomber – a prospective B-3, if you will – in a way that repeats this history."
Long-range strike options are being studied as part of the ongoing Quadrennial Defense Review. But Air Force strategists have already forwarded their vision of what the new bomber might look like. Adam Lowther, a research professor at the Air Force Research Institute at Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala., recently made the case for replacing Air Force strategic bombers with an affordable, nuclear-armed drone called a nuclear-dedicated unmanned combat aerial vehicle, or ND-UCAV. The ND-UCAV, Lowther argued, would cost around $150 million each; it could be derived from the X-47B, a carrier-launched drone that the Navy is working on.
If the Air Force could pull it off without massive cost overruns-- and given the history of aircraft development, that's a big if -- it might present an option in line with Gates' thinking. "Whatever system is chosen to meet this requirement – be it manned, unmanned, or some combination of the two – it should be one that can realistically be produced and deployed in the numbers originally envisioned," Gates said.
Speaking of cost overruns and schedule delays, Gates also announced that he would let the Air Force take another crack at running a $35 billion contract for aerial refueling tankers -- despite the fact that the service has already botched the competition twice.
[PHOTO: U.S. Department of Defense]
