Long Range Strike Bomber Begins to Emerge
September 2, 2015 (IN10351)
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Jeremiah Gertler, Specialist in Military Aviation (jgertler@crs.loc.gov, 7-5107)
In anticipation of a contract award "in the next couple of months," and in response to press speculation about its
capabilities, Air Force officials have begun revealing information about the Long Range Strike Bomber (LRS-B)
program, one of the Air Force's top three procurement priorities
. The LRS-B program is intended to yield 80 to 100
strategic bombers to replace aging B-52s and B-1s, beginning in the mid-2020s. This CRS Insight is based on a
discussion with Air Force officials on September 1, 2015.
Basic Design
Following cancellation of the previous Next-Generation Bomber program in 2009, Air Force and Department of
Defense officials conducted a "front-end analysis" looking at different concepts to accomplish the long-range strike
mission. Options included large aircraft carrying long-range standoff weaponry, conventionally armed ballistic
missiles, air- and sea-launched cruise missiles, and other configurations. The resulting LRS-B, approved by Defense
Secretary Robert Gates in 2011, is an optionally-manned penetrating bomber.
Although the specific designs remain classified and were not disclosed, the LRS-B was designed around three specific
capabilities:
1. A large and flexible payload bay capable of carrying a full range of current and future armament.
2. Range, although classified, was another significant criterion.
3. Projected average procurement unit cost of $550 million per plane, which was announced publicly to encourage
competing manufacturers to constrain their designs. The unit cost is a key performance parameter in the program,
meaning that inability to reach that price can disqualify a bid. (That price is based on acquisition of 100 aircraft;
variations in quantity may affect actual unit cost.)
Initial LRS-Bs will be manned, with unmanned operation possible several years after initial operational capability
(IOC). Nuclear qualification will also take two years or so after IOC.
No mention was made of speed, although the combination of long range, large payload, and cost constraints strongly
suggest LRS-B will be subsonic.
It is not likely that many technical details will be revealed at the time of contract award. Air Force officials anticipate a
further release of data when the system achieves its Milestone B review prior to engineering and manufacturing
development (EMD).
Technical Maturity
An earlier CRS Insight noted that the LRS-B budgeted funding and deployment schedule implied that considerable
development had already been accomplished. The Air Force has now confirmed this, stating that it has two robust
designs in hand (from the Boeing/Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman teams, respectively.) The designs are at an
unusually high level of detail and development for a system in which the prime contractor has not been selected,
according to senior program officials. The low-observable characteristics of both designs have been investigated in
detail against current and anticipated threats, and current designs are complete down to the level of, for example,
