US Military News, Reports, Data, etc.
- Thread starter tphuang
- Start date
The last truly successful US bomber program was the B-52.
That should be telling enough. Try to look at how many bomber programs the US had which failed like the B-58 Hustler.
I am fairly certain the MIC will find some way to make the B-21 so expensive to maintain and produce it will become another niche program.
That should be telling enough. Try to look at how many bomber programs the US had which failed like the B-58 Hustler.
I am fairly certain the MIC will find some way to make the B-21 so expensive to maintain and produce it will become another niche program.
TerraN_EmpirE
Tyrant King
Of course by that measure the last successful Russian Bomber was the Bear.
Hustler failed as it failed to consider the advent of the SAM site. The B52 proved able to be modified for extremely low level. XB70 failed as again air defenses changed. B1 was Lazarus by comparison it rose from the dead. It’s only real failure was that by the time it emerged Stealth was coming and the ICBM was in full swing. The B66 and the others were products of the time when technology of jet and supersonic aviation changed as fast as computer technology of the last 30 years.
Oh yes the failure of B2? The end of the Soviet threat and economy meant that the B2 was no longer needed. The main mission threat that once justified a huge fleet of B2 fell so hard into decline they had to pay their debts to Pepsi co. in super tankers. Slashing orders increased cost for tooling and production driving costs up on B2. 21 B2 were built, like the F22, Zumwalt or Seawolf that drove the costs mind bogglingly high.
I'm sorry, but the Bone was and is a mess. It has massive reliability issues. It really ought to be retired. Like in 1995.
TerraN_EmpirE
Tyrant King
Much of which come from its age and use. It’s fulfilling missions and a tempo that a Strategic Bomber wasn’t supposed to do.
TerraN_EmpirE
Tyrant King
Name any aircraft that doesn’t have problems. 95 would have been 10 years into its service at that time the fleet was denuclearized with SAC gone and the peace dividend being pushed bombers were on the decline. I am not saying there were not problems but to claim that it’s more than average I think fails to consider that few other aircraft compare. Those that do are just as troubled if not worse.
Strategic bombers are extremely difficult to get right.
Their requirements and primary mission (nuclear warfighting) are as ambitious as possible, survivability requirements are always at the edge of impossible, and so on.
For example, bone was "figured out" the moment those requirements were dropped, and it turned into just a bomb/lcm truck.