Clear Need for New Bomber

The Air Force’s new penetrating bomber program fulfills a service “core competency” and must be acquired, Vice Chief of Staff Gen. Philip Breedlove said Wednesday. Speaking in Arlington, Va., courtesy of AFA’s Mitchell Institute, Breedlove said the Air Force must continue to have the ability to strike any target on the globe from the air. It’s “a valuable deterrent, even in a strictly conventional role,” he said. “Long-range strike is a capability the nation currently depends on. We have used it well in . . . Libya, Afghanistan, and Iraq. And we will continue to need its capability well into the future,” especially in anti-access, area-denial situations, he asserted. Breedlove’s remarks came less than a week after Marine Gen. James Cartwright, Joint Chiefs vice chairman, challenged the need for the bomber, arguing that it would be an exquisite platform affordable only in very small numbers. Continue