New Air Force Bomber Takes Shape

There are enough studies on a future Air Force bomber fleet to break a bookshelf, but it appears military officials are finally beginning to talk in realistic terms about what this new aircraft will look like, or at least, what it won't look like.

Some of the more futuristic visions of years past are being shunted for cost and time reasons, Defense Daily reports, and what seems to be on the horizon is a manned, subsonic aircraft.

The U.S. Air Force's long-range strike aircraft set to be deployed by 2018 will be subsonic and manned, said Brig. Gen. Mark Matthews, director of plans and programs, headquarters, Air Combat Command, Langley Air Force Base, Va.

But it would be wrong to characterize the aircraft as being entirely devoid of current technology, Matthews said May 1 during a panel discussion "Return of the Bomber: The Future of Long Range Strike," presented by the Eaker Institute, the research arm of the Air Force Association (AFA).

"There is new technology associated with this," Matthews said.

For example, the Air Force is looking at technological advancements in low observability, sensors and engine development, he said.

The 2018 deadline for a new bomber aircraft was set by the Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR) to address a perceived gap in strike capability.

In later years, the Air Force is slated to procure and deploy more advanced bombers. The service is looking now at some directed energy technology to make the aircraft more survivable, Matthews said.

For now, the Air Force must concentrate on developing an aircraft that can penetrate enemy territory and persist and survive there long enough to deliver an effective payload. To do that, Matthews said, the service had to make tradeoffs. One of those was the supersonic speed.

"I'd love to have the world," he said. "But I can't afford the world."

This is in line with what other senior military officials have been saying over the past year about the new bomber: they want an aircraft that is more survivable and can spend more time at its target. This means that some of the wilder proposals of years past will stay on the drawing board or in the lab.

But the good news is that the Air Force's more sensible approach may mean they'll actually finally build something.