The Air Force is funding long range strike in three phases. Phase one is to upgrade the existing bomber fleet’s capabilities and make them easier to operate. Phase two will be the 2018 platform that will reap today’s state of the art in technology. A third phase will be a 2035 capability that will exploit anticipated—but not yet mature—technologies like hypersonics. An analysis of alternatives now underway will determine the nature of the 2018 solution. In Fiscal 2008 for long range strike, USAF plans to spend $802 million, of which about half funds existing bomber mods.
A new report from the Government Accountability Office calls for the Pentagon’s Chief Technology Officer to have budget certification authority over the military services’ research and development accounts—a move the services say would add a burdensome and unnecessary layer of bureaucracy.
