Lt. Gen. Stephen Wood, USAF’s deputy chief of staff for plans and programs, said that the Quadrennial Defense Review’s direction to develop a “five-fold increase” in long-range strike capabilities is related to timing rather than a specific number of platforms. Wood told reporters that USAF plans to sharply accelerate the timeline for fielding a new bomber-like capability, from 2037 to “within the 2020 timeframe.”
The Air Force wants more companies able to produce its new, multi-use, anti-radar missile that one expert says will prove vital in any future peer conflict and would be in high demand for the war in Iran if stocks were available now.