New Bomber: Slipping?

Defense Secretary Robert Gates said this morning that the Air Force might not field its Next-Generation Bomber until the 2020s.

Gates made the comment in response to a question about the program posed by Sen. John Thune (R-SD) today during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on the Pentagon’s fiscal year 2011 budget request.

The Air Force's budget proposal includes $200 million to “invest in critical technologies for a long-range strike platform or a family of systems,” Air Force Budget Director Maj. Gen. Alfred Flowers said during a briefing with reporters last week.

The 2005 Quadrennial Defense Review called for a new Air Force bomber by 2018. However, the 2010 QDR has prompted a new long-range strike study. The study will detail the bomber's requirements, such as manned or unmanned, Gates said.

Gates touted the existing bomber fleet as sufficient until a new aircraft enters service.