From Aviation Week

 

Next decade's AF bomber to be subsonic, manned

Michael Fabey/Aerospace Daily & Defense Report

 

The U.S. Air Force's long-range strike aircraft set to be deployed by 2018 will be subsonic and manned, said Brig. Gen. Mark Matthews, director of plans and programs, headquarters, Air Combat Command, Langley Air Force Base, Va.

 

But it would be wrong to characterize the aircraft as being entirely devoid of current technology, Matthews said May 1 during a panel discussion "Return of the Bomber: The Future of Long Range Strike," presented by the Eaker Institute, the research arm of the Air Force Association (AFA).

 

"There is new technology associated with this," Matthews said.

 

For example, the Air Force is looking at technological advancements in low observability, sensors and engine development, he said.

 

The 2018 deadline for a new bomber aircraft was set by the Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR) to address a perceived gap in strike capability.

 

In later years, the Air Force is slated to procure and deploy more advanced bombers. The service is looking now at some directed energy technology to make the aircraft more survivable, Matthews said.

 

For now, the Air Force must concentrate on developing an aircraft that can penetrate enemy territory and persist and survive there long enough to deliver an effective payload. To do that, Matthews said, the service had to make tradeoffs. One of those was the supersonic speed.

 

"Id love to have the world," he said. "But I can't afford the world."

 

And the Air Force can't afford to lose a new bomber to such things as crosswinds or dynamic flight conditions. The technology just isn't there yet for an unmanned aircraft to meet the necessary criteria, said retired Gen. Gregory Martin, another panel member.

 

However, Matthews said there is still room for "optionally manned" possibilities.

 

One option that is likely not on the table, according to "Return of the Bomber: The Future of Long Range Strike," an AFA special report, is an FB-22, or F-22 Raptor bomber variant.

 

"The QDR-backed move to build a 2018 capability signaled the end of the FB-22 initiative, at least in its old form," said report author Rebecca Grant, president of IRIS Independent Research Inc., in Washington, D.C.

 

The Air Force could revisit an F-22 variant plan, Grant wrote. "But, for now, that's separate from the 2018 bomber."

A manned, subsonic long range bomber...do I smell a battleship mentality in the 21st century?