Northrop Grumman wins the Long Range Strike Bomber Contract

[F-22Raptor]

The announcement will be in about 45 minutes. Here is a link to the live stream.

Live Stream 1

 

[AMDR]

I wonder if they will show a picture of it and give the nickname like the other bombers like "Spirit" and "Lancer"

I think Northrop has this one but idk, the Lockheed-Boeing juggernaut is pretty formidable.

 

[Skull and Bones]

My estimate is, Northrop Grumman is going to gain significantly.

 

[F-22Raptor]

I'm crossing my fingers for a concept image.

 

[Oublious]

interesting, why is Usa starting a new bomber project? You have B-2 stealth bombers, are you looking for faster and smaller bombers?

 

[F-22Raptor]

Stream just started

It's already leaked that Northrop has won the contract!

Northrop Grumman Wins USAF Bomber Contract

 

[Carach Angren]

interesting, why is Usa starting a new bomber project?

To make sure this.

And this.

Become as effective as this.

Staying ahead of emerging and expected threats is vital to a military's survivability and operational capacity.

Stream just started

It's already leaked that Northrop has won the contract!

Northrop Grumman Wins USAF Bomber Contract

No surprise. NG builds them best.

From the YB-49.

To the B-2.

X-47B.

And now LRSB?

NG has a strong pedigree.

 

[waz]

Any idea what it looks like underneath?

http://www.bizjournals.com/washingt...giants-await-word-on-lucrativelong-range.html

 

[F-22Raptor]

Congrats to NG! I was hoping they'd win!

 

[Carach Angren]

Any idea what it looks like underneath?

http://www.bizjournals.com/washingt...giants-await-word-on-lucrativelong-range.html

Nothing official yet, but here's the early concept art.

Early in the LRSB process, NG submitted a proposed replacement, the B-3A Raider.

 

[F-22Raptor]

Any idea what it looks like underneath?

http://www.bizjournals.com/washington/news/2015/10/27/aerospace-giants-await-word-on-lucrativelong-range.html

No official image has been released yet.

 

[waz]

Nothing official yet, but here's the early concept art.

I love that shape. The B2's shape is still one of the most iconic designs of the 20th century.

 

[F-22Raptor]

564 million per aircraft in 2016 dollars.

IOC in 2025

Unfortunately, no bomber designation or image.

They did confirm that it will have worldwide strike reach from the US. If that's without refueling, the engines must be incredible.

 

[AMDR]

LaPlante: “We’re going to do something that, as far as we know, has never been done before on a major platform.”

As to what this "something" is, it's anyone guess

My guess is is that we won't see this thing until at least 2020. They awarded the B-2 contract in 81 and didn't release a public image until 88. So we just have to be patient...

 

[Carach Angren]

LaPlante: “We’re going to do something that, as far as we know, has never been done before on a major platform.”

As to what this "something" is, it's anyone guess

I've got my finger crossed for UAV launch and recovery. To my knowledge this has never been done before with an unmanned aircraft, though the parasite fighter concept did experiment with such using the RF-84K.

And XF-85

Could an enlarged F-22 type trapeze be used for ejection and recovery of UAVs? It wouldn't surprise me considering the US military has talked about mother-ship designs, including flying aircraft carriers.

Like everyone else, I really don't have the slightest idea where to look though. The US military is highly innovative.