The proposed new nuclear air-launched cruise missile “does not reflect our current national security needs,” wrote seven senators in a letter to President Obama this week. Building a new nuclear cruise missile “would make our country less safe,” and because the Obama Administration has committed to extending the life of the B61 gravity bomb and developing a Long-Range Strike Bomber, a new cruise missile would be redundant, the senators wrote. The letter was signed by senators Edward Markey (D-Mass.), Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Bernie Sanders (D-Vt.), Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Al Franken (D-Minn.), and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.). The letter is dated Dec. 15, one day after the Air Force Association sent a letter to senior leaders of the House and Senate Armed Services Committees, asking Congress to fund the nuclear-armed Long-Range Standoff (LRSO) missile, planned to replace the current air-launched cruise missile. (See also LRS-B Versus Standoff Missiles.) (Read AFA’s letter.)
As Air Force leaders consider concepts of operations for Collaborative Combat Aircraft, sustainment in the field—and easing that support by using standard parts and limiting variants—should be a key consideration, according to a new study from AFA's Mitchell Institute of Aerospace Studies.