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
-
Why the US Is Losing the Drone War
Podcast
The US defense industry is struggling to keep up with the revolution in cheap drones vs. expensive reusable military equipment. Today on the show, we talk with Stacie Pettyjoh...
By Stacie Pettyjohn
-
Fragile Truce: U.S. and Iran Stand Down “For Now” After Strikes
Video
Becca Wasser, adjunct senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security, joined CNN This Morning to discuss the U.S.-Iran ceasefire and the future of negotiations. Watc...
By Becca Wasser
-
Beyond Reshoring
Commentary
Introduction Over the past several years, Congress and the Trump and Biden administrations have made significant efforts to reverse America’s atrophying manufacturing capabili...
By Diem Salmon
-
Franz-Stefan Gady on Why It’s So Hard to Judge Progress or Advantage in Modern Conflict
Podcast
Franz-Stefan Gady, a defense analyst and consultant in Vienna who is also an adjunct fellow with Center for a New American Security think tank and author of several books incl...
By Franz-Stefan Gady
