The B-2 was designed to be stealthy against long-range early warning radars, while the F-117 and F-22 were designed to survive against shorter range search radars and missiles, Boeing Advanced Systems President George Muellner explained Thursday at AFA’s symposium in Orlando. In the new long range strike system, the technology push would be “to do both” and optimize the platform to be stealthy in all regimes. Such a feat is “doable,” he said.
Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall doesn’t see great value in trying to break the Sentinel ICBM program off as a separate budget item the way the Navy has with its ballistic-missile submarine program, saying such a move wouldn’t create any new money for the Air Force to spend on other…