The Air Force is performing studies to figure out what defines a sixth-generation aircraft that will follow the big-ticket, fifth-generation F-35, according to a senior official.
Air Combat Command (ACC) chief Gen. Michael Hostage said Tuesday the service is “already behind” schedule to properly phase out an “aging fleet,” given the length and “tortuous nature” of the Defense Department’s acquisition process.
Though the Air Force is behind schedule, that doesn’t mean the time hurdle can’t be overcome, Hostage said.
“(That) doesn’t mean we can’t get there,” Hostage told an audience at an Air Force Association (AFA) breakfast event in Arlington, Va. “One thing I’ve learned from reading the history books, it’s American industry that has pulled us out of the fire.”
Hostage said he told his staff to not think in terms of platform, like another single-seat fighter, but in terms of capability that a future technology may bring to the Air Force to help it provide air dominance. Hostage added if it was a button on a keyboard that that made his adversaries fall to the ground, he’d be fine with that.
“My job is to provide air superiority,” Hostage said. “I’m agnostic as to how I do that.”
Hostage also said the reported $550 million unit cost for the new bomber, also known as the Long Range Strike Bomber (LRSB), is the most important aspect of the largely classified program. The Air Force recently awarded the long-anticipated request for proposals (RFP) for the new bomber, of which Lockheed Martin [LMT] and Boeing [BA] have announced a teaming arrangement to bid, while B-2 incumbent Northrop Grumman [NOC] is expected to bid, but has not formally announced its intention (Defense Daily, July 11). The Air Force is estimated to want between 80 and 100 new bombers.
Hostage also said the new bomber won’t be a platform that has everything on it, echoing comments by Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Welsh from earlier this year that he’d control the requirements to stabilize the price tag (Defense Daily, March 27). Hostage said it’s important to control the unit price of the new bomber so that the Air Force doesn’t repeat mistakes with the B-2 program, where costs spiraled out of control to the point where the service only acquired 20 aircraft.
“We can’t price it out, we need to have enough that there’s actually a threat,” Hostage said. “The concept of long range strike, I think, is one of the most critical elements that can only come from airpower. We have to give an adversary pause that there is no sanctuary.”