People without security clearances aren’t going to learn what the winning design for the Long Range Strike Bomber looks like anytime soon, but the Northrop Grumman B-2 bomber probably bears some resemblance. The lack of a fuselage or tail makes it much harder to track with radar; unfortunately, its stealth coatings and other “low-observable” features are a nightmare to maintain. (Wikipedia)
Bloomberg: Bidders Submit Designs for New U.S. Air Force Bomber
Bidders for the U.S. Air Force’s new bomber have produced elaborate designs of their competing offerings, according to a congressional assessment.
Northrop Grumman Corp. and its rival, a partnership of Lockheed Martin Corp. and Boeing Co., submitted “two robust designs” at “an unusually high level of detail and development for a system in which the prime contractor has not been selected, according to senior program officials,” the Congressional Research Service said in a report dated Wednesday.
The research service gleaned the information from a briefing that Air Force officials gave to about a dozen defense analysts on Tuesday, providing the most detailed assessment to date of the highly secret program. It may have been an effort to shape the thinking of widely quoted defense analysts before the award is announced. Jeremiah Gertler of the CRS was among those briefed.
WNU Editor: The problems for this program are already starting to crop up .... Senators Slam Pentagon Officials Over Faulty Bomber Estimates (DoD Buzz).
Update: B-3: The Inside Story of America's Next Bomber (Forbes).