By Doug Cameron 

The U.S. Air Force said Monday that its new B-21 long-range bomber would be called the Raider.

Northrop Grumman Corp. last year won the lead contract to build a fleet of jets to enter service around 2025, with analysts estimating it could cost $80 billion to $100 billion to develop and build a fleet of at least 100 radar-evading bombers, designed to deliver weapons and other systems deep into enemy territory.

The Raider program faces a number of challenges, not least its potential drain on Pentagon funding during the 2020s alongside a broader refresh of the U.S. nuclear arsenal that will force tough choices for future presidents and lawmakers.

The Raider was chosen after a vote among airmen and their families that attracted more than 4,600 entries, and was announced during a speech by Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James at an event near Washington, D.C.

The Air Force has been under pressure from some lawmakers to boost the transparency of the highly classified bomber program as it tries to steer funding for the planes through Congress and increase the potential fleet to as many as 200 jets.

Northrop Grumman was awarded a $21.4 billion deal last October to complete the bomber's development, alongside a contract to build an initial 21 jets. The value of the fixed-price development contract hasn't been disclosed, with the Air Force only revealing that the production cost per jet had been capped at $550 million in 2012 dollars.

Northrop Grumman will only give annual updates on its total order backlog, making it tougher to determine how much bomber work it is booking. It resumed work on developing the plane this year after Boeing Co. and Lockheed Martin Corp. dropped a protest after losing the main contract.

The Air Force said in March that the Pratt & Whitney arm of United Technologies Corp. would supply the engines and identified five other suppliers, without identifying their roles.

Ms. James identified three specialists in building aircraft structures and other systems on the bomber team: a unit of UK-based GKN PLC, Spirit AeroSystems Inc. and Orbital ATK Inc. Rockwell Collins Inc., which makes a variety of avionics, and electronic warfare specialist BAE Systems Inc. were also named alongside closely held Janicki Industries Inc., which makes composite materials.

The Raider is eventually expected to be equipped with nuclear weapons, and Ms. James has said the program budget should be included alongside a new Navy ballistic-missile submarine in a special fund for modernizing the U.S. nuclear arsenal if the Pentagon opts to take that route.

The Pentagon faces a so-called bow-wave of funding next decade as it boosts output of the Lockheed-led F-35 fighter, the Raider, a Boeing-made refueling tanker and the new submarine, alongside new intercontinental missiles and potentially, a long-range cruise missile.

Write to Doug Cameron at doug.cameron@wsj.com

 

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

September 19, 2016 12:15 ET (16:15 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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