The Air Force will select a contractor to build the next generation of the stealth bomber by the middle of next year.
According to a
military.com report posted on Defense Tech's website, Air Force officials revealed the news during the Air Force Association Air and Space Conference on Monday.
"We're about ready to enter into the next phase of the bomber," Lt. Gen. Ellen Pawlikowski said. "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."
The project, called the Long-Range Strike Bomber Program (LRS-B), plans to have new aircraft in use in about 10 years. The Air Force, according to the report, would like to have 80-100 new planes. Each one costs $550 million.
The Air Force has spent the last few years researching the project at a cost of $1 billion. The new fleet will replace the existing B-2 stealth bombers that have been in service since the 1980s.
Pawlikowski said the Air Force will get as much for its money as possible.
"We have spent a lot of time understanding what is in the scope of technology," she said. "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."
The government has yet to release details of the new planes, but Defense Tech reports they will most likely have the ability for both manned and unmanned flight. The Air Force also wants the new planes to be able to carry nuclear weapons and travel anywhere in the world in mere hours.
"Combining with the weapons that it will carry and the suite that goes with the bomber, it will be able to essentially put anywhere in the world at risk within a short period of time," Pawlikowski said.
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