WASHINGTON: Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Welsh made clear today that, while his service will make its arguments for modernization programs such as the JSTARS replacement, F-35 and Long Range Strike Bomber, the Defense Secretary and the combatant commanders will make the final decisions. The military’s latest and highest profile program, the Long Range Strike…
By Colin ClarkB-21, hypersonics and more: How digital development is driving industry innovation
Technological advancements are key to keeping pace with customer demands and evolving threat landscapes.
WASHINGTON: With the Pentagon’s big budget plan for 2017-2021 less than three weeks from completion, Defense Department comptroller Mike McCord promised significant slowdowns in “some” weapons programs, specifically including the Long-Range Strike Bomber. McCord’s slides pegged the total 2017 defense request at $584 billion ($525 in the base budget and $59 in overseas contingency operations…
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.
WASHINGTON: It may have happened before but I can’t remember when the top acquisition officials of two of the three services announced their resignations in the same month — let alone on the same day. But both Bill LaPlante, the lead buyer for the Air Force, and Heidi Shyu, his counterpart at the Army, did just…
By Colin Clark
UPDATED: Adds Air Force, Aboulafia, Callan, And Northrop Grumman Comments WASHINGTON: To no one’s surprise, the Boeing-Lockheed team has filed a formal protest against the award to Northrop Grumman of the $80 billion Long Range Strike Bomber contract. Industry sources had been talking of strategies to prosecute or defend against a protest for at least…
By Colin Clark
How did Northrop beat world’s largest defense companies, the Boeing-Lockheed Martin team, in the crucial competition for the Long Range Strike Bomber (LRSB)? First, and probably most importantly, Northrop Grumman is the only company in history to design, develop, manufacture, and maintain a long-range stealth bomber—the B-2 Spirit. Thanks to pre-award briefings, we know that the…
By Robert Haffa
Tuesday’s bomber award announcement by the US Air Force marks a critical achievement for US national security. Global Vigilance, Global Reach, and Global Power—the ability to find and strike targets anywhere in the world at any time—is a core capability for our nation. When North Korean provocations occurred in 2013, an Air Force B-2 flew over the Korean peninsula to deter hostile action. When Russia recently invaded Ukraine, B-2s and B-52s deployed to England to reassure NATO allies.
By Larry Spencer
Enterprise-wide training: the Army’s $3.5B program for multi-service combat readiness
The competition for Warfighter Training and Readiness Solutions will bring together training networks, combat training centers and live ranges across the DoD enterprise.
By Blake McMahon Tuesday, Northrop Grumman won the contract to develop the Air Force’s next strategic bomber. Specifics about the competing designs have remained a closely-guarded secret, and the exact capabilities of the new aircraft are likely to remain classified for some time. One fact that is already known about the new bomber, however, is that,…
UPDATED with details from Pentagon press conference; corrected EMD contract value PENTAGON: Affirming its status as the nation’s builder of stealthy bombers, Northrop Grumman today won what will probably be the biggest defense contract of the decade, the $80 billion, $564 million-per-plane Long-Range Strike Bomber program, which will enter service circa 2025. “The LRSB will allow the…
By Colin Clark PENTAGON: The head of Air Force acquisition, Cubs fan Bill Laplante, told reporters today that the very, very eagerly awaited contract for the initial 21 of 100 Long Range Strike Bombers (LRSB) would be issued “very, very soon.” “We are really, really close to the award of the bomber,” he said. How close, thousands of…
By Colin Clark WASHINGTON: Where, oh, where has the Long Range Strike Bomber gone? Where, oh, where can it be? The Pentagon has scheduled a briefing with Air Force acquisition head Bill LaPlante for tomorrow, but that doesn’t mean the bomber contract is going to be announced any time soon. Soon is the operative word. Air Force Secretary Deborah…
By Colin Clark
As the Pentagon prepares to announce the winner of one of its most significant contracts since the F-35 contract award in 2001 — the Long Range Strike Bomber — it faces a myriad of challenges and very high expectations. A Boeing-Lockheed Martin team is competing against Northrop Grumman, builder of the B-2 bomber, for the $25 billion prize.…
By Rep. J. Randy Forbes
ST. LOUIS: Boeing opened the doors of its Phantom Works’ Virtual Warfare Center to reporters for the first time during Defense Secretary Ash Carter’s visit, showing us tantalizing glimpses of advanced technologies such as its Talon HATE project to improve communications between the F-22 and efforts to double to 16 the air-to-air missile load of an F-15.…
By Colin Clark ST. LOUIS: It was the question of the day: Mr. Secretary, can you elaborate on the Long Range Strike Bomber? The Pentagon plans to buy 80 to 100 of the $550 million-a-copy bomber — most details of which remain classified. A Boeing employee asked the question after a short speech by Defense Secretary Ash Carter, here to…
By Colin Clark
Lost in much of the initial coverage of the $80 billion Long Range Strike Bomber about specs and jobs is that the contract award is the latest step forward in an unnecessary and unsustainable projected spending binge to rebuild the U.S. nuclear arsenal in its current image. According to a January 2015 Congressional Budget Office (CBO) report, the direct costs of the…
By Kingston Reif