The Air Force’s next bomber likely won’t have extensive intelligence-gathering or electronic-attack systems, and will rely on offboard capabilities for those aspects of its mission, said Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz Thursday. Answering questions after a speech to the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C., Schwartz said the Air Force would make best efforts “not to overdesign the airplane.” He added, “We’re going to deliver . . . an airplane that provides the essential capabilities that we need, and improve it over time . . . but we are not intent on delivering an aircraft that is extravagant.” Taking this approach “will allow us to produce a penetrating platform that is sufficiently affordable that we can buy in numbers,” said Schwartz. “We are not going to do the B-2 again. That is not in the cards.” The Air Force aims to deliver the new platform, dubbed the Long Range Strike-Bomber, or LRS-B, in the mid 2020s, said Schwartz.
U.S. Air Force F-15C Eagles have roared out of Barnes Air National Guard Base, Mass., for the last time. The 104th Fighter Wing’s last three F-15Cs departed the base Oct. 23 for the “Boneyard” at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Ariz., ending the aircraft's era on the frontlines of homeland defense.
