U.S. Military to Announce Builder of Next Super Bomber
Top U.S. military officials will on Tuesday announce the winner of a highly anticipated, multibillion-dollar contract to build a new generation of long-distance bombers that will replace aging, Cold War machines.
The Pentagon said Defense Secretary Ashton Carter and other top Air Force brass will unveil the winner at 5:15 pm (2115 GMT) -- after the U.S. stock market closes.
Dubbed the Long Range Strike Bomber (LRSB) program, the Air Force will award the mega-contract to either Northrop Grumman or a team made up of Boeing and Lockheed Martin.
The program envisions the creation of between 80 and 100 strategic bombers to replace America's fleet of B-52s and B-1s.
Almost everything is currently classified, save for the cost of each plane, which was set at $550 million per unit in 2010 dollars.
The average age of a B-52 -- widely used in the Vietnam War and in the first Gulf War -- is 51. The B-1 bombers, first deployed in the 1980s, are on average 29 years old.
Boeing and Lockheed together accounted for nearly 15 percent of the Pentagon's acquisition budget in 2014, compared to 3.25 percent for Northrop, according to aerospace and defense market intelligence specialist BGA-AEROWEB.
The stakes for the companies could hardly be higher. The Center for Budgetary and Strategic Assessments estimates the program will cost about $73 billion.
Source: Agence France Presse
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