Artist's rendering of the Air Force's Long Range Strike Bomber, designated B-21. Northrop Grumman, the prime contractor for the program, doesn't mention the B-21 in its earnings releases because it is classified. The company said classified manned aircraft contributed to higher sales in 2019 and will do so again in 2020. Image: Air Force.
By Pat Host |
7 years ago |
07/28/2016

The Air Force is still determining the maximum total number of B-21s it will purchase, according to a top officer.

Air Force Global Strike Command (AFGSC) chief Gen. Robin Rand said Thursday he recommends purchasing a minimum of 100 Long Range Strike Bombers (LRSB). He said that the maximum number of B-21s recommended for purchase will be dependent on the composition of existing bombers. Rand said the Air Force currently has 156 bombers in inventory, with 96 combat coded.

Artist's rendering of the Air Force's Long Range Strike Bomber, designated B-21. Photo: Air Force.
Artist’s rendering of the Air Force’s Long Range Strike Bomber, designated B-21. Photo: Air Force.

“I can’t imagine how I can do the combatant commander’s mission…with fewer bombers than we currently have in inventory,” Rand told an audience at a Peter Huessy breakfast series event on Capitol Hill.

The unit cost for the B-21 is about $556 million. Northrop Grumman’s [NOC] winning bid for the program was $23.5 billion for the engineering manufacturing development (EMD) portion of the program, Air Force Vice Chief of Staff Gen. David Goldfein told a Senate panel in June (Defense Daily, June 17). Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) Chairman John McCain (R-Ariz.) has been leading the charge to get the Air Force to reveal the total cost of the B-21 program. The service has refused, afraid that it would reveal the aircraft’s capabilities to adversaries.