US Next Generation Bomber Studies

[Ian33]

There is a lot of activity in and around the facility. The test assets are sight sensitive, and the facility observes a number of security conditions. Aircraft have to transit a long taxiway from the main base to the south end of the runway. The aircraft can't be visible while some of these security conditions exist - these range from overhead satellites to observers on Tikaboo to personnel at the facility uncleared for the aircraft's shape. Just scheduling around the number of Janet flights is a challenge (they are, currently, about hourly).


Placing a shelter close to the south end of the runway gives the test director a much greater degree of flexibility. If a test asset is delayed and will conflict with an incoming Janet it will not have to transit all the way back to a secure area of the main base before the Janet can land - which would hold up the entire facility.

Hahahahaha. Well, thats cleared up about a dozen questions I had. Appreciated. Every day is school day.

 

[bobbymike]

http://www.nationaldefensemagazine.org/archive/2014/September/Pages/TopSecretAirForceBomberProgramMovesForward.aspx

 

[Deino]

Said to be from Lockheed Martin called VS-07 NGB LRS-B 2006 Concept Model ... or simply fan-art !?

 

[Dragon029]

Posted on the last page; it's legit, but wouldn't be representative of what's currently flying.

 

[quellish]

Said to be from Lockheed Martin called VS-07 NGB LRS-B 2006 Concept Model ... or simply fan-art !?

Relevant:
http://www.secretprojects.co.uk/forum/index.php/topic,191.msg89510.html#msg89510

 

[Mat Parry]

Said to be from Lockheed Martin called VS-07 NGB LRS-B 2006 Concept Model ... or simply fan-art !?

Relevant:
http://www.secretprojects.co.uk/forum/index.php/topic,191.msg89510.html#msg89510

If I look at the picture in Low Observables most recent reply to this topic AND what Quellish has just hinted at.... hmmm? sporty!

 

[flateric]

http://m.aviationweek.com/military-government/northrop-bomber-team-relieved-over-california-legislation

http://m.aviationweek.com/defense/california-bill-nearly-torpedoed-bomber-bid

 

[dark sidius]

http://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/us-air-force-presses-ahead-with-next-gen-fighter-bomber-403255/

 

[TomS]

That link cuts off at an unfortunate place. I momentarily thought that it was about a suprise Air Force move to go ahead with something like the FB-22 fighter bomber.

 

[tacitblue]

http://defensetech.org/2014/09/15/air-force-plans-major-step-in-long-range-strike-bomber-program/


This are happening pretty quickly. Are we in a heavy bomber arms race with the USSR... err, I mean Russia and China?

 

[sferrin]

http://defensetech.org/2014/09/15/air-force-plans-major-step-in-long-range-strike-bomber-program/


This are happening pretty quickly. Are we in a heavy bomber arms race with the USSR... err, I mean Russia and China?

No. We've had a stealth bomber for 20 years.

 

[TomS]

http://defensetech.org/2014/09/15/air-force-plans-major-step-in-long-range-strike-bomber-program/


This are happening pretty quickly. Are we in a heavy bomber arms race with the USSR... err, I mean Russia and China?

The only race here is against metal fatigue in the B-52 and B-1 fleets. And it really isn't that sudden, it's just that a lot of the groundwork was laid quietly over the last decade in classified programs.

 

[bobbymike]

And may include one of these.

http://alert5.com/2014/09/16/lockheed-martin-flight-tests-airborne-laser-turret/

 

[dark sidius]

I feel this futur bomber will be a beast, very impatient to see the first public roll out ;D With laser weapon revolution of futur warfighter is on the way

 

[bobbymike]

http://breakingdefense.com/2014/09/b-2-pilots-lessons-for-lrsb-americas-new-bomber/

 

[phrenzy]

Fielding opinions: do you think PBS is making a JSF style documentary with the LRS-B teams?

 

[flateric]

for a classified program, yeah

 

[bobbymike]

http://www.nationaldefensemagazine.org/blog/Lists/Posts/Post.aspx?List=7c996cd7-cbb4-4018-baf8-8825eada7aa2&ID=1604&RootFolder=%2Fblog%2FLists%2FPosts

The head of the Air Force Research Laboratory on Sept. 16 said the first test of a hypersonic aircraft could come within five years, and the technology could be applied to cruise missiles by the 2020s. Maj. Gen. Tom Masiello, commander of the Air Force Research Laboratory, said hypersonics is one of the most promising technologies the lab is working on. It is currently testing the Boeing X-51 WaveRider unmanned hypersonic vehicle. Hypersonic planes, lasers and unmanned aircraft are all considered major aviation game changers, he said.

“Hypersonic is the technology of the future,” Masiello said during the Air Force Association’s Air and Space Conference at National Harbor, Maryland. “I can’t overemphasize the significance of the X-51.” Following a successful and historic test of the X-51 last year, momentum has been growing, Masiello said. During the test, the vehicle reached speeds of Mach 5.1 and traveled 230 nautical miles in about six minutes. When operational, a hypersonic aircraft will give the military the ability to strike time-sensitive targets and could be used in an anti-access/area-denial environment, Masiello said. Survivability in A2/AD situations is critical as the nation focuses on the Asia-Pacific region, which has a higher threat of such attacks, he said.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Interesting that he clearly makes the distinction between 'aircraft' and 'cruise missiles'. So five years would mean something is being built or has been built??

 

[sferrin]

Hate to be a downer but we've been hearing this kind of thing since the 80's if not earlier. And a hypersonic cruise missile by the 2020's? But, but, we could have had the hypersonic ASALM (Mach 5.4) in the 80s. :'(

 

[bobbymike]

Hate to be a downer but we've been hearing this kind of thing since the 80's if not earlier. And a hypersonic cruise missile by the 2020's? But, but, we could have had the hypersonic ASALM (Mach 5.4) in the 80s. :'(

Of course a large stealthy BWB type aircraft carrying about 50 ASALMs would pose quit the 'air defense' challenge in, let's say, the Far East for example?

 

[sferrin]

Hate to be a downer but we've been hearing this kind of thing since the 80's if not earlier. And a hypersonic cruise missile by the 2020's? But, but, we could have had the hypersonic ASALM (Mach 5.4) in the 80s. :'(

Of course a large stealthy BWB type aircraft carrying about 50 ASALMs would pose quit the 'air defense' challenge in, let's say, the Far East for example?

Yes indeed.

 

[marauder2048]

Hate to be a downer but we've been hearing this kind of thing since the 80's if not earlier. And a hypersonic cruise missile by the 2020's? But, but, we could have had the hypersonic ASALM (Mach 5.4) in the 80s. :'(

Of course a large stealthy BWB type aircraft carrying about 50 ASALMs would pose quit the 'air defense' challenge in, let's say, the Far East for example?

Wouldn't the general availability of the latter strongly influence how you designed the former? A stealthy, BWB might no longer be the optimal or desirable planform for a hypersonic CM carrier.

 

[dark sidius]

Surely the technology start to be mature enough to see an hypersonic cruise missile in 2020, and we don't know what kind of technology live in the black world.

 

[flateric]

http://secure.afa.org/events/Conference/2014/transcripts/Tuesday-9am-NuclearPanel.asp
http://secure.afa.org/events/Conference/2014/transcripts/Wednesday-8am-Chadwick.asp

 

[Grey Havoc]

Going a bit OT for the moment:

http://foxtrotalpha.jalopnik.com/the-u-s-air-forces-new-ac-130-gunships-are-really-bomb-1584518199​

 

[flateric]

http://www.floridatoday.com/story/money/business/2014/09/11/florida-today-sponsoring-forum-aviation-expansion/15476331/?utm_content=%5B%278194874%27%5D

FLORIDA TODAY sponsoring forum on aviation expansion
Wayne T. Price; FLORIDA TODAY 12:31 p.m. EDT September 25, 2014


The ripple effect of the company's "Project Magellan" at Melbourne International Airport, along with other area aeronautic projects and expansions, will be felt in the local employment rolls, in real estate, in education and in the small business community. It also will further cement Brevard's reputation as an aeronautics and aviation epicenter for research and development.


To help sort out some of this, and to help provide a strategy on how best to capitalize on recent momentum, FLORIDA TODAY is sponsoring a public panel discussion from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Sept. 29 at the Florida Institute of Technology's Gleason Auditorium. Other hosts of the event, called "Building on Magellan — Exploring Possibilities," are the Economic Development Commission of Florida's Space Coast and Florida Tech.


Panel members for the event include:


• Alan Metzger, vice president and integrated program team leader of LEMV and airship programs for Northrop Grumman;


• Michael Chriszt, economist with the Federal Reserve in Atlanta;


• Steve Moldrem, director of human resources, Embraer;


• Lynda Weatherman, president and chief executive officer of the Economic Development Commission of Florida's Space Coast.


Moderating the event will be Matt Reed, FLORIDA TODAY's public interest editor.

 

[LowObservable]

Maybe LRSB has 24,000-mile range.

 

[flateric]

...and will be using E-Jet as a base platform

 

[yasotay]

Please! 767, 777, or 787 are required for this. No respectable USAFA grad is looking to fly light turbine. It would be nice to think that USAF Inc. would consider a cost effective means to support the PBI (poor bloddy infantry), since "up close and personal" is out of vogue (again).

Seriously if all of the discussion about precision is correct, having a platform full of a myriad of ordance to support the mission in an age of information diversity makes sense to me. There is a lot of discussion regarding increased military operations in major urban centers (Gaza, Mosul and (any city in) Syria), with the desire to minimize collateral damage. An aircraft chalk full of SMB Mk.II and Griffin AGM lerking for hours on end seems something any commander tasked with operating in that environment would desire. Precision artillery and mortars would be able to do the same, however if one is trying to minimize their visibility/footprint, for whatever reason, then an airliner with a misplaced cargo door might be adventageous. For a multitude of reasons.

 

[DrRansom]

The latest Aviation Week has an article by Bill Sweetman which includes the following quote:

Goodbye Global Zero

"A senior air force official last week said the LRS-B would be designed with hardpoints - suggesting it could be a cruise-missile carrier."

I find that a bit hard to square with the idea that the LRS would be highly stealthy and the repeated insistence that the LRS-B would be fast.

 

[sferrin]

The latest Aviation Week has an article by Bill Sweetman which includes the following quote:

Goodbye Global Zero

"A senior air force official last week said the LRS-B would be designed with hardpoints - suggesting it could be a cruise-missile carrier."

I find that a bit hard to square with the idea that the LRS would be highly stealthy and the repeated insistence that the LRS-B would be fast.

The B-1B has/had hardpoints for cruise missiles.

 

[XP67_Moonbat]

This is just my 2 cents. But I wouldn't mind seeing something like McD MD-12. Or perhaps a redesigned Being Sonic Cruiser. I always thought both deserved a bomber variant.

 

[bobbymike]

The latest Aviation Week has an article by Bill Sweetman which includes the following quote:

Goodbye Global Zero

"A senior air force official last week said the LRS-B would be designed with hardpoints - suggesting it could be a cruise-missile carrier."

I find that a bit hard to square with the idea that the LRS would be highly stealthy and the repeated insistence that the LRS-B would be fast.

The B-1B has/had hardpoints for cruise missiles.

The F-35 can add exterior hard points as well.

The USAF definitely has a 'first day of war' and degraded air defense strategy when it come to stealth.

 

[marauder2048]

This is just my 2 cents. But I wouldn't mind seeing something like McD MD-12. Or perhaps a redesigned Being Sonic Cruiser. I always thought both deserved a bomber variant.

Are we not endangering enough civilian traffic by building military variants of the 737, 767, 330 etc?

 

[XP67_Moonbat]

Neh. Unless we start painting military aircraft in civilian livery.

 

[marauder2048]

Neh. Unless we start painting military aircraft in civilian livery.

Not to take this too OT, but do civilian liveries really give distinct returns? I could see that broadside perhaps (windows and all) but front and rear aspect?

 

[sferrin]

This is just my 2 cents. But I wouldn't mind seeing something like McD MD-12. Or perhaps a redesigned Being Sonic Cruiser. I always thought both deserved a bomber variant.

Are we not endangering enough civilian traffic by building military variants of the 737, 767, 330 etc?

:

 

[flateric]

...

 

[Dragon029]

That's a screencap from this video last year; I think it was linked earlier in this thread:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wCM4y6gOQdM

 

[flateric]

Well, that's actually not video screencap, but one of the poster series from current NG ad campaign. Also hangs at Pentagon metro station among other NG ads.