Air Force’s Bomber Fleet Could Get Larger, Global Strike Command Leader Says

摘要

Air Force Global Strike Command is looking to boost its number of bomber aircraft through 2040 and incorporate a number of new weapon systems on the fleet, even as dozens of current bombers may be retired by 2036. The service’s fiscal year 2021 presidential budget request included plans to cut 17 B-1B Lancer aircraft from the fleet and leave 44 in operation, before retiring the whole fleet by 2036. The Air Force plans to cut back on its aging B-1Bs as well as the B-2 Spirit bombers as the new B-21 Raider aircraft come off the production line later this decade. Service officials have previously stated plans to maintain between 165 and 175 bombers once the B-21 - in development by Northrop Grumman - comes online. But Air Force Global Strike Command Commander Gen. Timothy Ray is pushing for “north of 220” aircraft in the bomber fleet, and sees multiple paths to getting to that number over the next five years.