B-21 Bomber Headed Toward Critical Design Review, RCO Says

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Since being stood up in April 2003, the U.S. Air Force’s shadowy Rapid Capabilities Office (RCO) has expanded significantly, now overseeing 30 weapons programs valued at more than $30 billion over the next five years. The jewel in the organization’s crown, however, is the Northrop Grumman B-21 Raider, which now accounts for “about half” of the RCO’s total workload. One of the Air Force’s top three acquisition programs, work on the nuclear-capable, optionally-piloted stealth bomber began in February 2016, and the program is now marching toward a critical design review within the next year or so. Speaking at an Association of Old Crows conference in Washington on Nov. 28, RCO Director Randall Walden says his organization’s aim is to deliver the heavy bomber on cost, which requires minimizing schedule delays. The RCO is uniquely suited to this task, he says, because of its direct access to decision makers. The organization’s board of directors includes the Pentagon’s top acquisition official, Ellen Lord, as well as Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson and Chief of Staff Gen. David Goldfein. “It’s not easy to go and build a next-generation stealth bomber, but all of the indicators suggest we’re successfully executing the program,” Walden says. “We’re focused on getting to the critical design review, and getting those drawings in place and starting to build this bomber.” Of the RCO’s 220 personnel—a mix of military, civilian and contractor positions—half are focused on the bomber. Senior program officials are headquartered at Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling in Washington, close to the Pentagon, White House and Capitol Hill. About 80% of the other staff are at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, home of the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center. Another contingent is at Tinker AFB, Oklahoma, according to Walden’s slide presentation. The B-21 team successfully completed an integrated baseline review of the flying-wing bomber in November 2016 and passed through the preliminary design review stage earlier this year. The requirements and basic design of the aircraft should now be firm. Walden confirms that the production target remains 100 bombers, and the first operational unit should be ready for service by the mid-2020s.

The B-21 is the Air Force’s largest development program, requiring $13.5 billion in funding through fiscal 2022, according to the service’s budget request. It is the RCO’s greatest undertaking in its 14-year history, which includes the development of the Boeing X-47B Orbital Test Vehicle and establishment of an integrated air defense system around Washington. Most of the organization’s programs are veiled in secrecy, and the B-21 is no exception. The service has released scarcely any details, except top-line budget numbers, an artist’s rendering and a list of key suppliers. Not only does the B-21 program employ roughly half of the RCO’s staff, it’s the largest single slice of the group’s $30 billion program portfolio. The remaining 29 programs, most of which are hidden from public view, must be collectively worth about $16.5 billion across the Air Force’s budget plan, spanning fiscal 2018-22. Walden says the RCO doesn’t seek further expansion, contending that it is busy enough already. The board of directors ultimately decides which projects RCO takes on. “[But] I don’t want to do everything,” he says. Walden says “rapid” acquisition is best achieved by compressing the front-end work of defining the requirements; picking a winning industry team; and getting them on contract. The RCO’s B-21 program couldn’t avoid a bid protest by the loser, Boeing, but the Government Accountability Office ultimately ruled in its favor and Boeing’s leadership stepped back from a potential legal challenge. Even though it strives to go fast, the RCO must still abide by laws of “acquisition physics.” “Building a new weapon system takes X-amount of years [no matter what],” Walden explains. “It takes about three to five years to build an airplane—to do it right. The prototype takes maybe a couple of years.” The Raider is being designed by Northrop engineers in Melbourne, Florida, and will likely be assembled in Palmdale, California, with parts shipped in from across the U.S. The aircraft will initially augment, and then replace, Air Force Global Strike Command’s legacy Boeing B-1, B-52 and Northrop B-2 fleets, depending on the final quantity. Global Strike hopes to eventually expand its bomber fleet to about 175 or more aircraft.

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