The Air Force plans to use a mix of Contractor Logistics Support and organic maintenance on initial versions of the Long-Range Strike Bomber, with a plan to transition to an all-organic capability “at the appropriate time,” a service spokeswoman said in response to queries from Air Force Magazine. She also said that while the number of people needed to support the LRS-B is “still being evaluated,” the Air Force expects the number to be “in line with the current bomber fleet;” in other words, not a leap forward in maintainability. The program “took into account lessons learned from previous programs into the design concepts,” she noted, and Air Force acquisition chief William LaPlante said last week that B-2 bomber maintainers were included in design discussions.
Amid NATO’s continued push to ramp up air defenses in Eastern Europe, Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall swung by seven allied countries to boost relations last week, including those on Russia’s and Ukraine’s doorstep.