Bomber Hints

Boeing Defense President Chris Chadwick offered a tiny peak at the classified Long-Range Strike Bomber program in his Wednesday remarks at AFA’s Air & Space Conference in National Harbor, Md. Asked how Boeing competes with Lockheed Martin on many projects, but is teamed with the company on the new bomber, Chadwick said such an arrangement is becoming “the norm,” explaining that Boeing has a similar deal with its usual competitor Sikorsky on the Army Future Vertical Lift program. Lockheed, which makes the F-35, and built the F-117, F-22 Raptor, and RQ-170 Sentinel, is a “phenomenal company” and a great partner who is providing the team with its knowledge of other stealth programs, Chadwick noted. “The mindset” behind the arrangement was to “leverage investment” USAF has already made, so as to “not re-invent the future,” Chadwick explained. The goal is to work off the “technology, the capability” already created “to provide a seamless, integrated approach that we hope positions us well as the competition moves forward, and that really adds a different and better customer value proposition.” The team is competing against Northrop Grumman for the new bomber; a winner is to be chosen next spring.