re: #117 Occasional Reader

So, in a similar vein, having read through Gates’ speech from yesterday, I can find at least one proposed cut that maybe I can agree with:

“We will not pursue a development program for a follow-on Air Force bomber until we have a better understanding of the need, the requirement, and the technology.”

Frankly, I was not even aware such a program existed. But I’m thinking the B-2 is already so far ahead of anyone else, and so mission-capable for the forseeable future, that coming up with the next generation bomber is probably not an urgent need. I’d be interested in hearing other folks’ thoughts.

A replacement is needed for the B-52 fleet. The B-2’s mission overlaps a little with the B-52, but we have nothing coming that will be able to put ordnance on target in the quantities that the B-52 can. It is a gap in our strategic arsenal that we know is coming and needs to be filled, and now is the time to start that process. Waiting will only turn the problem into a crisis similar to the tanker situation we are facing now. Also, the B-2s have been operation for 20 years now, which means that they were designed 30-35 years ago, their technology is aging and advantages fading.