The Air Force is requesting nearly $200 million in Fiscal 2012 to launch a new bomber program and plans to spend $3.7 billion on the aircraft across the new five-year defense plan, according to Maj. Gen. Alfred Flowers, USAF’s budget chief. Briefing reporters Monday, Flowers said the new bomber will be optionally manned, be based on mature technologies, and have long range. He and additional USAF budget officials said the service wants to field a force of 80 to 100 airframes, with capability on the ramp in the mid 2020s. Flowers said classification will keep the Air Force from revealing many details, adding that “we won’t even know if there is a competition going on.” There isn’t one at this point, he noted. Moreover, this programmed money would fund development of the “entire family” of long-range strike systems, Flowers said, not just the bomber, but the bomber will be “the centerpiece” of long-range strike.
US Space Command Should Always Be Led by a Guardian
Sept. 12, 2026
General Stephen Whiting took command of U.S. Space Command in January 2024, and if customary three-year tenures hold, his tour would end in January 2027. The question now before the President and Senate is who should follow him? Whoever they choose, it has to be a Guardian—and so should every successor…
