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Buying either B-52 or B-1 makes no sense. Neither is penetrating on the modern battlefield so why not develop a Rapid Dragon type system for A400? You'll get the same effect much more cheaply and with no microfleet of expensive-to-maintain airframes.Another factor to consider is that such large potential payloads are useless for the RAF, since you'd be dropping a significant fraction of the entire national stockpile in one go...If the UK does want a manned penetrating bomber, not just a cruise missile truck, then it's probably either the B-21 or an FB-22 like GCAP derivative with a larger delta wing and optimised for high-subsonic flight. Buying American will impose constraints as ever, and not be cheap. A GCAP derivative probably wouldn't be any cheaper overall, but there would potentially be export interest to soften the blow.
Buying either B-52 or B-1 makes no sense. Neither is penetrating on the modern battlefield so why not develop a Rapid Dragon type system for A400? You'll get the same effect much more cheaply and with no microfleet of expensive-to-maintain airframes.
Another factor to consider is that such large potential payloads are useless for the RAF, since you'd be dropping a significant fraction of the entire national stockpile in one go...
If the UK does want a manned penetrating bomber, not just a cruise missile truck, then it's probably either the B-21 or an FB-22 like GCAP derivative with a larger delta wing and optimised for high-subsonic flight. Buying American will impose constraints as ever, and not be cheap. A GCAP derivative probably wouldn't be any cheaper overall, but there would potentially be export interest to soften the blow.
