Sat, Feb 21, 2009
Nuclear-Capable Aircraft May Or May Not Fly Supersonic
During a teleconference with reporters Wednesday, Boeing
officials gave new details on a project few were expecting -- plans
for a new, long-range bomber for the US Air Force.
Industry publication Defense News reports officials briefed the
media on a number of the planemaker's Air Force programs, including
Boeing's plans to internally fund an additional 15 C-17 Globemaster
III transport planes -- on top of the 15 transports recently ordered by the
Pentagon -- in anticipation of a follow-on order in
late 2009.
Now, about that bomber...
Senior Boeing officials said the planemaker has partnered with
Lockheed Martin to develop a proposal for the Air Force, intended
to "put a plane on the ramp in 2018," said Jack Catton, Boeing's
vice-president of business development. Catton added he "expects"
the first version of the plane "will be nuclear-capable," though
Boeing hasn't heard anything definitive from the USAF about that
criteria.
The new, long-range bomber would presumably replace the
workhorse of the Air Force's bomber fleet, the nearly 60-year-old
B-52 Stratofortress (above). The Air Force has already issued
desired range, payload and signature guidelines, while also stating
the plane "doesn't have to be supersonic."
Though several Pentagon analysts presumed the Air Force had at
least a general plan in the works on a B-52 replacement -- Boeing
disclosed it had started work on such a proposal in 2006 -- few had
any real details about the plan before Wednesday.
The Boeing-Lockheed team are thought to be competing against
Northrop Grumman for the contract.
Boeing was comparatively quiet about another Air Force program,
the oft-stalled KC-X aerial tanker program. Catton said Boeing is
keeping a low profile on the project, while service leaders prepare
a new request for proposals.
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