The U.S. Air Force's new bomber will be less ambitious in its performance goals than once envisioned, the service's top uniformed leader said.
"We're not going to be as ambitious as we perhaps were at one time," said Gen. Norton Schwartz, Air Force chief of staff, during the National Defense Industrial Association's Special Operations/Low Intensity Conflict Symposium on Feb. 9, referring to the nascent long-range strike program.
Schwartz said the less ambitious performance targets will make it easier for the Air Force to manage the program and for industry to deliver an operational aircraft on time and on budget.
"And that kind of thing will make it easier for us to manage and less challenging for industry to keep their promises," he said.
Schwartz said that in these difficult budgetary times, there is no leeway for "wishful thinking." He told industry, "It's a simple thing for me: Deliver what you promised."
One way the Air Force might scale back its ambitions might be to build the new aircraft using an incremental block approach to adding new capabilities, said Paul Kaminski, chairman of the Defense Science Board. He advocated an open systems approach that would allow the service to add new features to the aircraft as technology advances and as the threat evolves.
Most important, the Air Force must limit its ambitions for the first increment of the new bomber, he said.
"You want to be careful not to overreach with the first block," he said.
However, Kaminski said the new bomber should include the necessary hookups to incorporate those new features from the onset, because retrofitting such equipment would be exceedingly difficult and costly.
Retrofitting the aircraft with the needed electromagnetic hardening for the nuclear role needs to be planned in advance, he said. Thus, the new bomber should include the necessary space and wiring for a nuclear capability even if the plane will not receive that ability until later in its operational life.
"We're not going to be as ambitious as we perhaps were at one time," said Gen. Norton Schwartz, Air Force chief of staff, during the National Defense Industrial Association's Special Operations/Low Intensity Conflict Symposium on Feb. 9, referring to the nascent long-range strike program.
Schwartz said the less ambitious performance targets will make it easier for the Air Force to manage the program and for industry to deliver an operational aircraft on time and on budget.
"And that kind of thing will make it easier for us to manage and less challenging for industry to keep their promises," he said.
Schwartz said that in these difficult budgetary times, there is no leeway for "wishful thinking." He told industry, "It's a simple thing for me: Deliver what you promised."
One way the Air Force might scale back its ambitions might be to build the new aircraft using an incremental block approach to adding new capabilities, said Paul Kaminski, chairman of the Defense Science Board. He advocated an open systems approach that would allow the service to add new features to the aircraft as technology advances and as the threat evolves.
Most important, the Air Force must limit its ambitions for the first increment of the new bomber, he said.
"You want to be careful not to overreach with the first block," he said.
However, Kaminski said the new bomber should include the necessary hookups to incorporate those new features from the onset, because retrofitting such equipment would be exceedingly difficult and costly.
Retrofitting the aircraft with the needed electromagnetic hardening for the nuclear role needs to be planned in advance, he said. Thus, the new bomber should include the necessary space and wiring for a nuclear capability even if the plane will not receive that ability until later in its operational life.
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