2018 Bomber
Encyclopedia
The Next-Generation Bomber program (formerly called the 2018 Bomber) is a medium bomber
Medium bomber
A medium bomber is a bomber aircraft designed to operate with medium bombloads over medium distances; the name serves to distinguish them from the larger heavy bombers and smaller light bombers...

 under development by the United States Air Force
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...

. It was originally projected to enter service around 2018 as a super stealthy, subsonic, medium range, medium payload "B-3" type system to augment and possibly to a limited degree replace the U.S. Air Force's aging bomber fleet.

On 24 June 2010 Lt. Gen. Philip M. Breedlove
Philip M. Breedlove
Philip Mark Breedlove is a four-star general in the United States Air Force and the 36th and current Vice Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force. He assumed his current assignment on January 14, 2011.-Early life:...

 said that the term "next-generation bomber" was dead and that the Air Force was working on a long-range strike "family" that would draw on the capabilities of systems like the F-35 and F-22 to help a more affordable and versatile bomber complete its missions. On 13 September 2010 Air Force Secretary Michael Donley said that long range strike would continue cautiously with proven technologies and that the plan to be submitted with the 2012 budget could call for either a missile or an aircraft. The bomber will be nuclear-capable, but not certified for nuclear use until a later time.

2018 Bomber

USAF Air Combat Command
Air Combat Command
Air Combat Command is a major command of the United States Air Force. ACC is one of ten major commands , reporting to Headquarters, United States Air Force ....

 in 2004-06 studied alternatives for a new bomber type aircraft to augment the current bomber fleet which now consists of largely 1970s era airframes, with a goal of having a fully operational aircraft on the ramp by 2018. Speculation that the next generation bomber would be hypersonic and unmanned were laid to rest when Air Force Major General Mark T. Matthews, head of ACC Plans and Programs said "Our belief is that the bomber should be manned" at a 1 May 2007 Air Force Association sponsored event. He later cited that the bomber would also likely be subsonic due to the higher cost of development and maintenance of a supersonic or hypersonic bomber. The 2018 bomber is expected to serve as a stop-gap until the more advanced "2037 Bomber
2037 Bomber
The 2037 Bomber is the unofficial name given to a heavy strategic bomber planned by the United States Air Force. It is projected to enter service in 2037 as a stealthy, supersonic, long-range, heavy-payload, possibly unmanned aircraft to potentially replace the B-52 Stratofortress, which entered...

" enters service.

USAF officials expect the new bomber to have top end low observability characteristics with the ability to loiter for hours over the battlefield area and respond to threats as they appear. Major General David E. Clary, ACC vice-commander, summed it up by saying the new bomber will be expected to "penetrate and persist". Deployment of cruise missiles is another issue for the new bomber. The B-52 is the only aircraft currently in the Air Force inventory allowed under treaty to carry and fire the cruise missiles. Major consideration was paid to operation readiness and flexibility. In 2006, the program expected that a prototype could be flying as early as 2009. In September 2007, Air Force generals stated that even though the development schedule for the bomber is short, it could be fielded by 2018.

On 25 January 2008, Boeing
Boeing
The Boeing Company is an American multinational aerospace and defense corporation, founded in 1916 by William E. Boeing in Seattle, Washington. Boeing has expanded over the years, merging with McDonnell Douglas in 1997. Boeing Corporate headquarters has been in Chicago, Illinois since 2001...

 and Lockheed Martin
Lockheed Martin
Lockheed Martin is an American global aerospace, defense, security, and advanced technology company with worldwide interests. It was formed by the merger of Lockheed Corporation with Martin Marietta in March 1995. It is headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, in the Washington Metropolitan Area....

 announced an agreement to embark on a joint effort to develop a new U.S. Air Force strategic bomber, with plans for the new airplane to be in service by 2018. This collaborative effort for a long-range strike program will include work in advanced sensor
Sensor
A sensor is a device that measures a physical quantity and converts it into a signal which can be read by an observer or by an instrument. For example, a mercury-in-glass thermometer converts the measured temperature into expansion and contraction of a liquid which can be read on a calibrated...

s and future electronic warfare
Electronic warfare
Electronic warfare refers to any action involving the use of the electromagnetic spectrum or directed energy to control the spectrum, attack an enemy, or impede enemy assaults via the spectrum. The purpose of electronic warfare is to deny the opponent the advantage of, and ensure friendly...

 solutions, including advancements in network-enabled battle management, command and control, and virtual warfare simulation and experimentation. Under the Boeing-Lockheed arrangement, Boeing, the No. 2 Pentagon supplier, would be the primary contractor with about 60% of the deal, said sources familiar with the companies' plans. Lockheed, the world's largest defense contractor, would have around 40%. However on 1 March 2010 Boeing said that the joint project had been suspended. Northrop Grumman
Northrop Grumman
Northrop Grumman Corporation is an American global aerospace and defense technology company formed by the 1994 purchase of Grumman by Northrop. The company was the fourth-largest defense contractor in the world as of 2010, and the largest builder of naval vessels. Northrop Grumman employs over...

 received $2 billion in funding in 2008 for "restricted programs" – also called black programs – for a demonstrator which could fly in 2010.

The Air Force was expected to announce late in 2009 its precise requirements for a new bomber that would be operating by 2018. In May 2009 testimony before Congress, U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates mentioned that the Pentagon is considering a pilotless
Unmanned aerial vehicle
An unmanned aerial vehicle , also known as a unmanned aircraft system , remotely piloted aircraft or unmanned aircraft, is a machine which functions either by the remote control of a navigator or pilot or autonomously, that is, as a self-directing entity...

 aircraft for the next-generation bomber role. Then in April 2009, Defense Secretary Gates announced a delay in the new generation bomber project that would push it past the 2018 date. This was caused not only by budget considerations, but also by nuclear arms treaty considerations.

Long-range strike

On 19 May 2009, Air Force Chief of Staff
Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force
The Chief of Staff of the Air Force is a statutory office held by a four-star general in the United States Air Force, and is the most senior uniformed officer assigned to serve in the Department of the Air Force, and as such is the principal military advisor and a deputy to the Secretary of the...

 General Norton Schwartz
Norton A. Schwartz
Norton Allan Schwartz is a United States Air Force general who is serving as the 19th Chief of Staff of the Air Force. He previously served as Commander, United States Transportation Command from September 2005 to August 2008...

 said that the USAF's focus in the 2010 budget was on “Long-range strike, not next-generation bomber” and will push for this in the QDR. In June 2009, the two teams working on NGB proposals were told to "close up shop".

On 16 September 2009, Defense Secretary Gates endorsed the concept of a new bomber but insisted that it must be affordable. He said, "I am committed to seeing that the United States has an airborne long-range strike capability – one of several areas being examined in the ongoing Quadrennial Defense Review. What we must not do is repeat what happened with our last manned bomber. 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." On 5 October 2009, Ashton Carter
Ashton Carter
Ashton Baldwin Carter is a United States national security professional. He is is the United States Deputy Secretary of Defense. Prior to that, He served as Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics for President Barack Obama. He is currently on leave from his post as...

 said that the DoD was still deciding if the Air Force really needed a new bomber and that if the program was approved the aircraft would need to handle reconnaissance as well as strike. And in July 2010 he said he intended to “make affordability a requirement" for the next-generation intelligence and strike platform.

On 11 December 2009, Gates said that the QDR had shown the need for both manned and unmanned long range strike and that the 2011 budget would most likely include funding for the future bomber. The Air Force plans for the new bomber to be multi-role with intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities.

Andrew Krepinevich
Andrew Krepinevich
Andrew F. Krepinevich, Jr. is a defense policy analyst, currently executive director of the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments. His influential book, The Army and Vietnam, contends that the United States could have won the Vietnam War had the Army adopted a small-unit pacification...

 has questioned the reliance on a short range aircraft like the F-35
F-35 Lightning II
The Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II is a family of single-seat, single-engine, fifth generation multirole fighters under development to perform ground attack, reconnaissance, and air defense missions with stealth capability...

 to 'manage' China in a future conflict and has called on reducing the F-35 buy in favor of a longer range platform like the Next-Generation Bomber, but then-United States Secretary of the Air Force
United States Secretary of the Air Force
The Secretary of the Air Force is the Head of the Department of the Air Force, a component organization within the Department of Defense of the United States of America. The Secretary of the Air Force is appointed from civilian life by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate...

 Michael Wynne
Michael Wynne
Michael W. Wynne is an American business executive and was the 21st United States Secretary of the Air Force. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates asked for and received his resignation Michael W. Wynne (born September 4, 1944) is an American business executive and was the 21st United States...

 rejected this plan of action back in 2007.

Recent developments

During the debate on the New START
New START
New START is a nuclear arms reduction treaty between the United States of America and the Russian Federation with the formal name of Measures for the Further Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms...

 treaty
Treaty
A treaty is an express agreement under international law entered into by actors in international law, namely sovereign states and international organizations. A treaty may also be known as an agreement, protocol, covenant, convention or exchange of letters, among other terms...

 in December 2010, several senators used the stalled bomber project as a reason to oppose or delay the ratification of the treaty.

On 6 January 2011, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates
Robert Gates
Dr. Robert Michael Gates is a retired civil servant and university president who served as the 22nd United States Secretary of Defense from 2006 to 2011. Prior to this, Gates served for 26 years in the Central Intelligence Agency and the National Security Council, and under President George H. W....

 made a speech on the U.S. defense budget
Military budget of the United States
The military budget is that portion of the United States discretionary federal budget that is allocated to the Department of Defense, or more broadly, the portion of the budget that goes to any defense-related expenditures...

 for FY 2012, announcing major investment to be made in developing a long-range, nuclear-capable penetrating bomber, optionally being remotely piloted. He also said the aircraft "will be designed and developed using proven technologies, an approach that should make it possible to deliver this capability on schedule and in quantity. It is important that we begin this project now to ensure that a new bomber can be ready before the current aging fleet goes out of service. The follow on bomber represents a key component of a joint portfolio of conventional deep-strike capabilities — an area that should be a high priority for future defense investment given the anti-access challenges our military faces". In July 2011, Joint Chief vice chairman James Cartwright called for a large UAV instead of a manned bomber, to conduct even the nuclear mission. Retired Air Force Colonel and CSBA analyst Mark Gunzinger has called for an optionally-manned bomber to be developed, stating purely-unmanned bombers to be at a disadvantage without direct human pilot awareness and vulnerable to communication disruption.

As of March 2011, the Air Force intended to purchase from 80 to 100 of the aircraft. Global Strike Command
Global Strike Command
Air Force Global Strike Command is a major command of the United States Air Force outlined in a recent roadmap for the improvement of the United States' nuclear arsenal. It assumed responsibility for the nuclear-capable assets of Air Force Space Command on 1 December 2009 and the nuclear-capable...

 has indicated that one requirement upon the bomber is to carry a weapon of similar effect to the existing Massive Ordnance Penetrator
Massive Ordnance Penetrator
The Massive Ordnance Penetrator GBU-57A/B is a project by the U.S. Air Force to develop a massive, precision-guided, "bunker buster" bomb...

. In addition to the strategic bombing
Strategic bombing
Strategic bombing is a military strategy used in a total war with the goal of defeating an enemy nation-state by destroying its economic ability and public will to wage war rather than destroying its land or naval forces...

, tactical bombing
Tactical bombing
Tactical bombing is the aerial bombing aimed at targets of immediate military value, such as troops, military installations or equipment. This is in contrast to strategic bombing, attacking enemy's cities and factories to debilitate the enemy's capacity to wage war, the enemy's future military...

, and prompt global strike
Prompt Global Strike
Prompt Global Strike is a United States military effort to develop a system that can deliver a precision conventional weapon strike anywhere in the world within one hour, in a similar manner to a nuclear ICBM. Potential scenarios that would require such a fast response might include an impending...

 roles typical for a long-range bomber, the new aircraft will be a part of a family of systems to be responsible for ground surveillance and electronic attack. The Obama administration in its 2012 budget request asked for $197 million and a total of $3.7 billion over five years to develop the bomber which would include modular payload options for intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance (ISR), electronic attack (EA), and communications. The bomber is to be nuclear capable, but will not be certified for the role until the current bomber force is due for retirement.

In 2011 the House Armed Services Committee added language that would require two engine programs for the bomber, but Ashton Carter
Ashton Carter
Ashton Baldwin Carter is a United States national security professional. He is is the United States Deputy Secretary of Defense. Prior to that, He served as Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics for President Barack Obama. He is currently on leave from his post as...

 objected that this would interfere with plans to reuse an existing engine. The two most likely engines are the Pratt & Whitney PW9000 engine, which uses a combination of Pratt & Whitney F135
Pratt & Whitney F135
The Pratt & Whitney F135 is an afterburning turbofan developed for the F-35 Lightning II single-engine strike fighter. The F135 family has several distinct variants, including a conventional, forward thrust variant and a multi-cycle STOVL variant that includes a forward lift fan...

 and commercial turbofan technology and a derivative of the General Electric/Rolls-Royce F136
General Electric/Rolls-Royce F136
The General Electric/Rolls-Royce F136 is an advanced turbofan engine being developed by General Electric and Rolls-Royce plc for the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II.-Development:...

. In May 2011 Air Force undersecretary Erin Conaton announced that a program office was being set up for the bomber. In July 2011, an Air Force spokesman stated a program office has yet to be established.

Design

The design goals in January 2011 were:
  • Total program cost estimated at $40 to $50 billion
  • Fleet size of 175 aircraft, 120 for 10 combat squadrons plus 55 for training and reserves
  • Subsonic maximum speed
  • Range: 5,000+ nautical miles (9,260+ km)
  • "optionally manned" (for non-nuclear missions)
  • Total mission durations of 50 to 100 hours (when unmanned)
  • A weapons load of 14000–28000 lb (6,350.3–12,700.6 kg)
  • Ability to "survive daylight raids in heavily defended enemy territory"
  • Ability to carry nuclear weapons
  • Designed to use off-the-shelf propulsion, C4ISR
    C4ISTAR
    In military usage, a number of abbreviations in the format C followed by additional letters are used, based on expanded versions of the abbreviation C2 - command and control.C2I stands for command, control, and intelligence....

    , and radar technologies
  • Intelligence
    Military intelligence
    Military intelligence is a military discipline that exploits a number of information collection and analysis approaches to provide guidance and direction to commanders in support of their decisions....

    , surveillance
    Surveillance
    Surveillance is the monitoring of the behavior, activities, or other changing information, usually of people. It is sometimes done in a surreptitious manner...

    , target acquisition
    Target Acquisition
    In the military, target acquisition denotes any process that provides detailed information about enemy forces and locates them with sufficient accuracy to permit continued monitoring or attacking it....

    , and reconnaissance
    Reconnaissance
    Reconnaissance is the military term for exploring beyond the area occupied by friendly forces to gain information about enemy forces or features of the environment....

     along with command and control gear to enable the crew to direct other aircraft and forces.


An August 2008 paper by Northrop Grumman highlighted the following trends and requirements:
  • Airfields available for American use have declined since the Cold War.
  • Hostile cruise and ballistic missiles could shut down the few available airfields.
  • Fewer fighter aircraft will be available to escort the bomber force.
  • Advanced fighter aircraft and surface to air missiles are being made available to potentially hostile states.
  • The current USAF bomber force is small and largely outdated.

See also

External links

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