But Can The Military Afford It?

While military strategists and BUFF pilots may passionately argue otherwise... the truth is that one day, the B-52 Stratofortress WILL stop flying. When that time comes (it's worth noting is hasn't yet in over 50 years) the Pentagon wants to be ready... so the military is making its plans now.

The new bomber would be on the flight line within the next dozen years, according to the latest Quadrennial Defense Review. The QDR states the US should develop a new, land-based, long-range bomber by 2018 -- while, at the same time, updating the current fleet of B-1, B-2 and, yes, B-52 aircraft.

"The new bomber is one of the biggest initiatives in the QDR report,” said Loren Thompson, a military analyst at the Virginia-based Lexington Institute, to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

If the Pentagon goes along with the proposal, it would mean substantially speeding up the development of a new bomber, which was supposed to be completed by 2037.

One of the questions faced by planners and designers alike is, will this new long-range bomber be manned or unmanned? The QDR says at least 45 percent of the country's future air fleet will be unmanned.

Don't count on a new bomber just yet, however. President Bush this week will present his budget proposal... and Treasury Secretary John Snow says it will be austere. The president has promised to cut the federal deficit in half by the time he leaves office -- which means reducing America's current deficit of $337 billion in the red to $189 billion.

Such a plan would likely leave very little room for the development of a new bomber.

FMI: www.af.mil