U.S. Air Force Said Poised to Award Bomber Contract Tuesday

I think we need to consider that NG may actually have the better bomber.

a reply to: anzha

They will probably call it the B-3 but the competitors might have had a YB-3 and YB-4 designation during the competition so who knows. I still pissed they didn't give us anything of any real substance besides the builder.

a reply to: aholic

The whole theory with the B-2 was they wouldnt need the B-1 and B-52 and everything else because B-2 was so capable, BUT....as history would go to show, the B-1 has been the most useful bomber over the last 10 years dropping more ordinance on enemy terrirtory than the others combined.

The B-2 is a very mission specific bomber, and the Pentagon will be so scared to death to put the B-3 in any engagements for at least 15 years.

Thus the B-1R is a perfect idea. You wont be using LRS-b for 15 years maybe 25 years and even when its IOC, you wont see it be very rarely and only when its training. They will continue to run the B-1 into the active conflicts to drop the ordinance.

Well this is kind of interesting. The Air Force promised full media access to the program, prior to the announcement. They were going to be able to see data on wind tunnel tests, and other unclassified data. However, now the Air Force is saying that they will not be providing that, and it will remain classified.

a reply to: BigTrain
As rational as it may be - the B-1R is not going to happen. As far as not using the LRS-B for 15 or 25 years, I don't see how you came up with that. The B-3 project is managed on the DoD side by the RCO - meaning they intend to fast track this air frame. That's my take anyhow...

a reply to: Zaphod58

I have a feeling something went on behind the scenes in the last two months. If LM/B mount a protest this contract might make the KC-46 contract look like a walk in the park, RCO or no RCO.

a reply to: Zaphod58

Ain't it?

I wonder if they are waiting until after BoLock get their debrief and will slowly unveil.

a reply to: anzha

From what they said previously, the media was supposed to get access prior to the announcement today. They were going to get to see models of both aircraft, along with other data. But now no one is getting anything, period.

a reply to: Zaphod58

Something's up. The question is what. And why.

BoLock protest or something not quite kosher with the award or a potential leak of the wrong sort, maybe?

Get ready for NG to tease the heck out of us in the next couple years. At least till they are allowed by the Air Force to reveal the whole plane.

a reply to: anzha

I fully expect a protest to be filed next week after the briefing. If something was up, it'll come out in the next few weeks.

a reply to: Zaphod58

yeah.

AvLeak for us AvGeeks has a piece (registration required, but free) on how we got from the Next Generation Bomber into the Long Range Strike Bomber.

originally posted by: Zaphod58
Well this is kind of interesting. The Air Force promised full media access to the program, prior to the announcement. They were going to be able to see data on wind tunnel tests, and other unclassified data. However, now the Air Force is saying that they will not be providing that, and it will remain classified.

But did they pinky promise?

In all seriousness, is there any sort of penalty clause for the abrupt change of heart? If there is nothing holding them to the promise, then they shouldn't be making the claim and selling the project with it. A promise without backup is nothing but a puff of wind, and worth almost as much.

Oh I got so excited to see her sitting on the tarmac finally, not quite yet though. It is good to see alot of the old members and the previous aviation mod stop by the forum. Hope you all hang around for awhile, Ive really enjoyed your posts and threads from years ago.

Is the name still classified for the NG bird?

I honestly am not surprised...haven't they had some snafu's during testing with the NG bird in the last year or two? Maybe that has something to do with it. Oh well, we'll see it eventually right before its retired 😒

a reply to: Zaphod58

Northrop just launched a fluffy website on the bomber.

a reply to: anzha

world political affairs, maybe the USAF need them as fast as they can. Perhaps the "simplest" option was chosen, the one that requires a shorter learning curve and testing.

a reply to: Darkpr0

It's a really bad idea to promise the media something, and then renig, when you've had the problems the Air Force has had with procurement. Yes, they're part of the government, but bad press still hurts them, and if you do that often enough, you're going to get a LOT of bad press. It also creates the impression that you're hiding something.

originally posted by: anzha
a reply to: Sammamishman

Stupidest part of the whole thing: they wouldn't even call it the B-3, even though there's not exactly a lot of bombers between the B-2 the and LRS-B.

I'd have publicly proclaimed it the B-7 at the award pc, and watched everyone's heads explode and followed all the whispers online while quietly chuckling to myself.

a reply to: Zaphod58

Could it be that the non-winner, is being run on a limited production and the AF doesn't want to show there hand for there secret bomber/isr platform.


or they were able to implement something they didnt think would be available when they told the press that