Northrop Grumman’s Long Range Strike Bomber

On October 27, 2015 the Pentagon announced the contract of the new Long Range Strike Bomber to Northrop Grumman. Northrop’s contract valued at $60 billion beat out those of Lockheed Martin and Boeing.

The plane is projected to enter service around 2020 and is designed to infiltrate deep into enemy territory carrying payloads of nuclear and thermonuclear weapons. The Long Range Strike Bomber will replace the B-52 fleet, which has been in service since the 1950s. The B-52 was designed to deliver a nuclear payload by using radar into enemy territory. The downside is that the jet needs a longer distance to turn around. The plane was mainly used in the Vietnam War “Arc Light” missions, heavy bombing runs in North Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos.

U.S. Secretary of Defense, Ash Carter, said, “building this bomber is a strategic investment in the next fifty years. It demonstrates our commitment to our allies and our potential adversaries. Making it crystal clear the United States will continue to retain the ability to project power throughout the globe.”

Bill LaPlante, The U.S. Air Force Assistant Secretary, announced the average cost of a Long Range Strike Bomber would be $511 million dollars and Northrop Grumman is going to build a fleet of 100 planes. The engineering and manufacturing development part of the contract will cost $21.4 billion dollars.

Officials have not commented much on the capabilities of the Long Range Strike Bomber, but indications are it will be a stealth aircraft. General Mark Welsh, Air Force Chief of Staff, said, “We have committed to the American people to provide security in the skies, balanced by our responsibility to affordably use taxpayers dollars in doing so.”

The development of the Long Ranger Strike Bomber will help reassert American air superiority around the globe in the future, given the level of threats we currently face from a resurgent Russia carrying out military maneuvers in Syria.