The Air Force plans to use a mix of Contractor Logistics Support and organic maintenance on initial versions of the Long-Range Strike Bomber, with a plan to transition to an all-organic capability “at the appropriate time,” a service spokeswoman said in response to queries from Air Force Magazine. She also said that while the number of people needed to support the LRS-B is “still being evaluated,” the Air Force expects the number to be “in line with the current bomber fleet;” in other words, not a leap forward in maintainability. The program “took into account lessons learned from previous programs into the design concepts,” she noted, and Air Force acquisition chief William LaPlante said last week that B-2 bomber maintainers were included in design discussions.
U.S. Air Force F-35A Lightning II stealth fighter jets were observed flying toward the Middle East on Feb. 11, the latest step in the U.S. military buildup in the region as the Trump administration weighs possible strikes on Iran.
