Some Interesting News about the LRS-B Program

Even if the Pentagon is forced to operate under a yearlong continuing resolution, the Air Force will proceed with the contract award for the Long Range Strike Bomber (LRS-B) on schedule, he noted.

This is both reassuring and worrisome at the same time. Either that means they feel with the funds of the CR they will be able to progress without screwing the project or they are being overly confident. That last worries me.

The Pentagon is taking measures to ensure the LRS-B program does not go the way of A-12 by focusing on using mature technologies rather than launching new developments.

Ah, yes, the A-12. oy. So promising, so screwed up. I notice they don't say they are avoiding the mistakes of the F-35. Might, just might, be a political reason for that.

The program is also unusually advanced in terms of design and testing; the Air Force already has two robust prototypes in hand.

ooooooooh. Talk about admissions there.

However, if they have the "two prototypes in hand" it seems unlikely the NG platform crashed unless they rapidly built another.

link.

a reply to: anzha




and i thought they some one said these weren't flying yet. rapid prototyping and advancements in composites and there manufacturing surely is the reason these two are flying around.

i wonder if the RQ-180 will be in the family, i dont know how it couldnt be. i hope we get a nice family picture for Christmas.

a reply to: anzha

No one said the NG bird crashed. It came close, and wound up grounded but it didn't crash.

a reply to: Zaphod58

gotcha. For some reason I interpreted what was said as it went splat.

a reply to: anzha

You don't get much closer than they did and not go splat.

Here's hoping the announcement come sooner than later:

The Air Force can proceed only after Kendall, undersecretary for acquisition, technology and logistics, convenes a Defense Acquisition Board review to assess the service’s readiness to award a contract in the competition that pits Northrop Grumman Corp. against a team of Boeing Co. and Lockheed Martin Corp. Kendall said he hopes a date for the review, which often signals to investors that a contract award is coming within days, can be decided this month.

Both competitors have been working on their bomber designs for the last 4 years through classified contracts. Plenty of time to have built and flown a full scale prototype.

www.bloomberg.com...

So I guess it's time to squint at the Amarillo bird again and try to see whether it looks more like a Boeing Phantom Ray or an X-47B...

If you look at Amarillo it's three bird in flight not two, something strange.

a reply to: darksidius

Were they sure that one of them wasn't a B-2 chase plane or something?

a reply to: Barnalby

Two were B-2s.

a reply to: Zaphod58
Ok for the plane breaking the formation, for sure it's not the shape of wing wee saw with the NG tease of their LRS-B concept.

a reply to: Zaphod58

So what would hang out with B2's. EW? Target Designation? Post Attack Analysis?

a reply to: Bfirez

None of the above. If you're going to fly something new that you want to hide, the best way to hide it is fly with something that looks like it.

removed

So, (tapping fingers on desk,) are we gonna announce the thing or not? Good grief Charlie Brown, are we going to be into next year before we see a pretty airplane? Grrrrrrrrrr!!!

a reply to: Zaphod58
I read that the several months delay in announcing a winner was reportedly so one of the contractors could get something down pat. I wonder if in light of the close call the NG prototype had they could be referring to it, and if so does that point to them being the preferred bidder? There are increasing noises coming out of the Pentagon that they are not entirely comfortable with any further industry rationalization. Probably something about an increasingly small number of hideously expensive golden eggs and only one, or more precisely two baskets......

LEE.

originally posted by: Zaphod58
a reply to: Bfirez

None of the above. If you're going to fly something new that you want to hide, the best way to hide it is fly with something that looks like it.

Makes sense.

But then you read Douglass' account of how he obtained the pics and it was via a call from a "Govt. worker called Tom" who knew he was out plane spotting and told him to look to the south east.

deepbluehorizon.blogspot.co.uk...

Seems strange (and expensive) to hide among B2's then tip off the local plane spotter.

Didn't "they" then re-stage the entire flight path at a later date using 3 B2's as well???

a reply to: SonofaSkunk

When Kendall, Undersecretary of Acquisition, convenes a Defense Acquisition Board review to assess the service’s readiness to award a contract, the official announcement should be within days afterward. He is hoping to set a date for the review by the end of this month.

a reply to: Jukiodone

They may not have been trying to hide it from spotters on the ground.

a reply to: thebozeian

The DoD might also be attempting to structure the contract in such a way as to inhibit the consolidation of the defense aerospace sector. By allowing company A, build a certain percentage of it over here. Company B, build the rest over there and company C do final assembly.
That way everyone get a piece of the pie and isn't put out in the cold. They did that with the F-35 and F-22, why not with LRSB?