The Air Force will release a full request for proposals (RFP) for its much-heralded next-generation bomber program in the “fall timeframe,” service Secretary Deborah James said Wednesday.
James told an audience at a Bloomberg Government conference in Washington that a draft RFP was currently being reviewed and commented on. James also said the budget for the new bomber, also known as the Long Range Strike Bomber (LRSB), is not classified, so details will be available when President Barack Obama’s fiscal year 2015 budget request is released March 4.
The tandem of Lockheed Martin [LMT] and Boeing [BA] is competing against B-2 stealth bomber prime contractor Northrop Grumman [NOC].
Media reports have tagged the total price of the LRSB acquisition program at between $50 billion and $80 billion. The Air Force said in October it expected to procure between 80 and 100 new bombers, though the service might not buy that many (Defense Daily, Oct. 28
). The Air Force originally envisioned procuring a fleet of 132 B-2s in the 1980s, but ended up with only 20 as the program was beset with cost and scheduling problems (Defense Daily; Feb. 10, 2012).
The Air Force has made clear the new bomber is one of its top priorities, along with the F-35 and KC-46 aerial refueling tanker, despite declining defense budgets. James and Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Welsh have a Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) posture hearing scheduled for April 10.