New Air Force Bomber to Be Named the Raider
September 19 2016 - 12:40PM
Dow Jones News
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 12:25 ET (16:25 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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