July 27, 2017
The US Air Force Needs More Bombers Than It’s Asking For
In a future combat zone dominated by advanced 3-D air search radars, directed-energy weapons, electromagnetic railguns, and hypersonic missiles, there is still room — indeed, a strong requirement — for the new B-21 heavy bomber. Analysis suggests that the United States needs a lot of them, far more than the 100 new bombers the Air Force currently desires.
To prosecute a major, sustained long-range strike campaign within an anti-access/area denial environment dominated by China’s HQ-9 or Russia’s S-400 missiles, the Air Force needs to add a minimum of 164 B-21 bombers to the nation’s older but nonetheless relevant B-52 Stratofortress and B-2 Spirit stealth bombers. This is because heavy bombers, whose form and function have been honed in hot and cold wars over a century, can perform missions and hit targets that no other platform can.
Read the full article in Defense One.
More from CNAS
-
War Game in Taiwan: A “home game” for China, an “away game” for the U.S.
Podcast
The year is 2027 and China has decided to attack Taiwan and bring the island nation under direct control. Now the U-S has to answer: do we fight for Taiwan’s freedom? How far ...
By Becca Wasser & Dr. ED McGrady
-
CNAS Gaming Lab on Meet the Press
Video
In a special collaboration with NBC’s Meet the Press, The Gaming Lab at CNAS executed a strategic-operational game to provide critical insight into how a potential war with Ch...
-
Will Tomorrow’s Wars Be Fought by Robots?
Podcast
Artificial intelligence and autonomous systems are poised to change the battlefield, and with it, soldiers themselves. Today, the human cost of war is high. Will that be true ...
By Paul Scharre
-
Risk and Responsibility
Reports
Washington is reimagining its global role, leading the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) to make difficult choices about priorities, resources, and risk to better address the l...
By Becca Wasser & Jennie Matuschak
