U.S. Air Force Said Poised to Award Bomber Contract Tuesday

Well ladies and gents, this is it!

The U.S. Air Force plans to award Tuesday the contract to develop and produce its next-generation bomber, according to defense officials, settling a competition between Northrop Grumman Corp. and a team of Boeing Co. and Lockheed Martin Corp.

The final hurdle in the process was cleared Friday, when Pentagon weapons buyer Frank Kendall briefed senior Defense Department leaders on the selection, officials said. Kendall’s role in the contract was to approve the service proceeding with the award.

If it proceeds as planned, the long-awaited announcement will be made Tuesday after financial markets close, with a press conference by Air Force officials and possibly Defense Secretary Ashton Carter, said the officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because the contract deliberations are confidential.

The Long-Range Strike Bomber will be one of the Pentagon’s biggest weapons systems of the next decade. Joining the B-2 bomber, with its radar-evading “flying wing” design, the new plane will be the eventual successor to the 1970s-era B-1 and the Eisenhower-era B-52 when it enters service in the mid-2020s.

Secret Contest
The bomber is part of a family of secret, strike technologies including munitions, sensors needed to find targets, jamming capabilities to suppress enemy radar and communications capable of surviving a nuclear blast’s shock waves. The first version will be piloted and carry conventional weapons, followed by a version that can carry nuclear weapons. An unmanned model may follow.

The contest has been shrouded in secrecy with high stakes for the bidders, the last three U.S. makers of large military aircraft. Defense officials haven’t revealed how much has been spent to hone designs and prototypes since 2011 under classified contracts.

“It’s the biggest airframe contract of the decade at a pivotal moment in the industrial base,” Richard Aboulafia, a defense analyst with the Teal Group, a Fairfax, Virginia-based consultant, said in an interview before the announcement. “You have 2.5 players and one contract. Mathematically, it’s fascinating.”

$550 Million
Air Force officials weighed three main capabilities in making their selection: a production cost projected at $550 million per plane, in 2010 dollars --with no development dollar included -- were given the same weight as payload and range for the competing designs, said Loren Thompson, a defense analyst with the Lexington Institute, who was briefed on the program ahead of the announcement. Boeing and Lockheed have contributed to the institute.

When awarded, the contract will have a cost-plus type engineering, manufacturing and development phase that includes incentives for controlling costs and a fixed-price-incentive contract for the first 20 of the planned 100 aircraft, Air Force officials have said.

source: www.bloomberg.com...


This will be interesting for sure. Really looking forward to what's in store for both competitors, and how the industry will be affected, if any.

Zaph, Sammamish, you boys gonna be there?

a reply to: weavty1

I had the weirdest dream last night. It was about the unveiling of both aircraft and the source selection. In the dream both aircraft were presented behind a podium. The contract was awarded to both teams with 45 aircraft each (& the potential for more). In the event certain contractual obligation's were not met, the other contractor would pick up the slack.

The NG aircraft looked much like the posted images with a few facets by the inlets, and the L-B aircraft looked a lot like a sleek A-12.

I have absolutely NO inside knowledge of the program beyond this forum, but the dream was pretty cool.

It seems the waiting will end Tuesday.

Cheers.

RcTeller

a reply to: weavty1

I don't know if both will be there.... but I have Nooooooo doubt, One or the other of them already knows something.
And they are quaking in their boots just dying to say something.

a reply to: weavty1

I'll be around there once it's flying, and if they do an official unveil as they originally planned to if I can.

a reply to: weavty1

I'll be somewhere. Lol.

We may get some more grainy long distance photos of it come next summer.

If they said the real deal won't be flying till 1+ year from now, They official roll out won't be till 2017 maybe. Zaphs work arrangement gives him a better chance at the roll out than mine though.

a reply to: Bigburgh

No comment.......

a reply to: Sammamishman
True, forgot about that part.. Grr. Lol.

Well they'll more than likely show updated renders of the winning design, and who knows, maybe the losing design, too?! That'd be nice!

We will see tomorrow who is right, LM/B or Northrop , guys give a lot about LM/B, we wait and see

a reply to: darksidius

Flight Global talked to their 'experts' and they have an even split as to who has won. Northrop? Or BoLock?

If they do show pics/renderings, I'll be running around like Weavty1's avatar.

a reply to: SonofaSkunk

You and me both!

a reply to: weavty1

I'm half expecting the announcement to get postponed. We've had a number of false positives before after all...

a reply to: anzha
I have never heard the BoLock nickname before, it's cute, they used to call us lockmart back in the day. I've been retired for about six years.

a reply to: anzha

If you read the articles, they all agree that the window for the announcement opens tomorrow, it's not certain that tomorrow is the announcement date. But it will be some time this week.

originally posted by: weavty1
Well ladies and gents, this is it!

The U.S. Air Force plans to award Tuesday the contract to develop and produce its next-generation bomber, according to defense officials, settling a competition between Northrop Grumman Corp. and a team of Boeing Co. and Lockheed Martin Corp.

The final hurdle in the process was cleared Friday, when Pentagon weapons buyer Frank Kendall briefed senior Defense Department leaders on the selection, officials said. Kendall’s role in the contract was to approve the service proceeding with the award.

If it proceeds as planned, the long-awaited announcement will be made Tuesday after financial markets close, with a press conference by Air Force officials and possibly Defense Secretary Ashton Carter, said the officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because the contract deliberations are confidential.

The Long-Range Strike Bomber will be one of the Pentagon’s biggest weapons systems of the next decade. Joining the B-2 bomber, with its radar-evading “flying wing” design, the new plane will be the eventual successor to the 1970s-era B-1 and the Eisenhower-era B-52 when it enters service in the mid-2020s.

Secret Contest
The bomber is part of a family of secret, strike technologies including munitions, sensors needed to find targets, jamming capabilities to suppress enemy radar and communications capable of surviving a nuclear blast’s shock waves. The first version will be piloted and carry conventional weapons, followed by a version that can carry nuclear weapons. An unmanned model may follow.

The contest has been shrouded in secrecy with high stakes for the bidders, the last three U.S. makers of large military aircraft. Defense officials haven’t revealed how much has been spent to hone designs and prototypes since 2011 under classified contracts.

“It’s the biggest airframe contract of the decade at a pivotal moment in the industrial base,” Richard Aboulafia, a defense analyst with the Teal Group, a Fairfax, Virginia-based consultant, said in an interview before the announcement. “You have 2.5 players and one contract. Mathematically, it’s fascinating.”

$550 Million
Air Force officials weighed three main capabilities in making their selection: a production cost projected at $550 million per plane, in 2010 dollars --with no development dollar included -- were given the same weight as payload and range for the competing designs, said Loren Thompson, a defense analyst with the Lexington Institute, who was briefed on the program ahead of the announcement. Boeing and Lockheed have contributed to the institute.

When awarded, the contract will have a cost-plus type engineering, manufacturing and development phase that includes incentives for controlling costs and a fixed-price-incentive contract for the first 20 of the planned 100 aircraft, Air Force officials have said.

source: www.bloomberg.com...


This will be interesting for sure. Really looking forward to what's in store for both competitors, and how the industry will be affected, if any.

Zaph, Sammamish, you boys gonna be there?

We need new ICBM's more than we need a new Bomber.

a reply to: Zaphod58

Oh I see the great churn of intel.

We saw it once before and it disappeared into the depths of the black world for a time.

a reply to: anzha

Maybe with all the recent Chinese and Russian muscle flexing, we'll get a big surprise,,,,,and so will they!

a reply to: Xeven

Ask, and yea shall receive.

New ICBMs are being worked on. New Boomers are being worked on. New SLBM is being worked on. New Bomber is being worked on. Nuclear gravity bombs are getting mods from the smart bomb world[1]. New nuclear warhead is being worked, ahem! Warheads are being made long lasting. (psst, pretty much new warhead) We are recapitalizing our nuclear deterrent. ALL of it.

The strategic holiday is over.

1. A nuclear bomb in a smart bomb body. Its a powerful combination. Enough to give me goose bumps. (NTM!)

a reply to: justdust

Just made it up. It was that or BLock.

More news.

a reply to: Xeven
New ICBM to be never use ?? Instead a Bomber work for the peace at each conflict , much more bomber is the right response , no need of new icbm, the ICBM in use now are enough.