While the Air Force’s plans to field a new bomber by around the end of the next decade have been put on hold, pending more analysis, the Russian Air Force appears ready to move forward toward a new capability. Russian news wire service RIA Novosti reported Wednesday that the Russian defense ministry has signed a contract with Russian aircraft-maker Tupolev to develop a next-generation strategic bomber for fielding around 2020. Speaking at the MAKS-2009 air show near Moscow on Wednesday, Tupolev general director Igor Shevchuk said the new bomber would be “a conceptually new plane based on the most advanced technologies,” according to the news wire service. And Russian Air Force commander Col. Gen. Alexander Zelin is quoted as saying the bomber is envisioned both for conventional and nuclear roles.
For years now, Space Force officials have said the service is getting serious about defining its role and crafting an architecture for future cislunar capabilities. Now, the Space Force is taking steps to realize that vision, asking industry to rapidly invest and develop satellites and software that could be ready…