NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. – The U.S. Air Force is considering whether to move funding from the B-1B Lancer program to buy additional next-generation B-21 bombers in the fiscal year 2021 budget, as changes are considered for the overall future of the aging bomber force.
Accelerating procurement of the Northrop Grumman-developed B-21 Raider is a priority for the service, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David Goldfein said Sept. 17 at a media roundtable at the Air Force Association’s Air, Space & Cyber conference here.
The service has announced plans to retire the B-1B Lancer “Bone” fleet over the next decade – as well as the B-2 Spirits – while development continues on the new B-21. Acting Air Force Secretary Matt Donovan confirmed Monday that the B-21 is currently being built at Northrop Grumman’s Palmdale, Calif., facility.
First flight of the B-21 is currently scheduled for 2021, officials previously said. While more funding may not push the program to the left in terms of schedule, “I’m hoping we can accelerate in terms of numbers,” Goldfein said. The Air Force has indicated a desire to procure 100 B-21s, but a number of government-sponsored reports have shown the service may require even more aircraft, he added. “I’m 100 percent lockstep with those analyses,” he said.
Along with additional B-21s, the released funding meant for B-1s could go to long-range strategic precision weapons and the ongoing B-52 re-engine competition, he added. Air Force leaders did not describe how much funding would be shifted.
Operational use of the B-1B has caused “significant structural issues,” Goldfein said. The aircraft was designed to fly high speeds at slow altitudes, to penetrate enemy defenses and take out targets. But for the last 18 years, it’s been flown at medium-altitude, “very slow, wings forward” for missions in Afghanistan where it was determined to be the “optimal platform,” he said.
