Secret U.S. stealth bomber project underway

The Pentagon has awarded Northrop Grumman the $80 billion contract to design and build a top-secret, next-generation strategic bomber
for the U.S. Air Force, beating a team led by Boeing
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LONG RANGE STRIKE BOMBER (LRS-B)

Procurement: 80-100 aircraftto replace fleet of ageing B-52 and B-1 bombers, beginning in mid-2020s

Crew: Aircraft could operate both with and without pilots

Cost per aircraft $564 million (in 2016 dollars) 

Armament: Large payload bay capable of carrying range of direct attack and standoff weapons – conventional and nuclear

Specifications: Classified
Speed: Likely to be subsonic
Unrefuelled range: Possibly 9,000km

Stealth: Array of “low observable” technologies to prevent aircraft being tracked by hostile radar

Northrop Grumman B-2 U.S. stealth bomber entered service in 1993 (21 built) Wingspan 52m  

Northrop Grumman X-47B Unmanned combat air vehicle demonstrator built for U.S. Navy 19m

LRS-B: Smaller, less costly version of B-2,perhaps midway in size between B-2 and X-47B 

Payload would be less than B-2, but LRS-B could carry large number of new lightweight smart weapons
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Sources: Flightglobal, Federation of American Scientists, wire agencies

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