Emerging Technologies Committee
(ETC) Report
Next Generation Long Range
Strike (NGLRS) Bomber and
Weapons, Update
Rudy Yurkovich
6 Jan 2010
6 January 2010
Emerging Technologies Committee
Next Generation Long Range Strike
(NGLRS) Bomber – Summary
• Original presentation was made by Larry Brase, 21 August
2007. Presentation summarized status of NGLRS with emphasis
on the need for technology development and funding required.
AF to boost technology funds in 2008, field bomber in 2018.
• Second presentation made by Rudy Yurkovich, 13 May 2009.
Presentation updated status of NGBLRS, described the
required technology, speculation on black world program,
compared NGBLRS technology to ETC technologies watch list,
and made recommendations
• Goals of this presentation:
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Update status of NGLRS
Interaction with Congress
Summarize press releases
Summarize two new reports on NGBLRS
More speculation from Bill Sweetman
Recommendations
6 January 2010
Emerging Technologies Committee
Panel Discussion at SDM
• Start an ETC sponsored series of joint Industry & Customer Panel
sessions targeting the appropriate conferences (ASM, SDM, JPG,
GNC, etc.) for each of the Technologies
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– Contacted Tech-Chairman (Ramesh Malla) of 2010 SDM meeting.
– Time available for panel discussion on Thursday, last day of Conference
– Larry Brase contacted George Muellner and Paul Nielsen for recommendations
on panel members
Feed back from George: “I think you may have difficulty getting AF speakers given
that Gates officially cancelled the program. While there are efforts ongoing, most are
not in the domain of structures and would likely be restricted by ITAR. A better target
might be ‘Materials for Aerospace Propulsion’’.
So we could not get panel members. And panel session was canceled.
Lesson Learned; Start planning early. Right now would be a good time for 2011 SDM,
recruit panel members first, then propose panel.
6 January 2010
Emerging Technologies Committee
Panel Discussion at
U.S. Air Force T&E Days 2010
Feb. 2-4, 2010, Nashville, Tennessee
• Panel Session Title: The Time for High-Speed Weapons
• Moderator: Dr. Mark Lewis, President-elect, American Institute of
Aeronautics and Astronautics and Dr. Willis Young Prof. and Chair,
Department of Aerospace Engineering University of Maryland
College Park, MD
• Synopsis:
Today, more than ever before, mature technologies and validated mission requirements are
intersecting in favor of a high speed weapon. For the past decade, the T&E infrastructure has been leveraged to
enable several focused hypersonic flight experiments which will demonstrate the feasibility of weapons in this
class. Once demonstrated, these experiments will inform our decisions regarding how to leverage our test
infrastructure for a weapon system acquisition and development. This session chronicles several infrastructure
improvements that provided needed risk reduction for these flight experiments, describes several near term flight
experiments, and outlines a strategy to go from promising technology to the field.
• Panel Members:
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Dr. Richard Hallion - “T&E Enables Flight”
Dr. Natalie Crawford - Matured and Integrated Hypersonic Technologies will find Users”
Maj. Gen. Curtis M. Bedke "What is Different Today“
Dr John Foulkes - "How the T&E community is Posturing for the Potential Success of Hypersonics”
6 January 2010
Emerging Technologies Committee
Congressional Caucus on Long Range Bomber
• Congressional Caucus
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Letter from Congress Woman Madeleine Boradallo requesting Congress form a
Congressional Caucus on Long Range Strike Bomber
Made contact with one of her Congressional Staff people and was informed that Caucus was
formed but that there was no additional action. At his request I indicated that I would be
available to answer questions on this topic.
• Reported in CQ Today Nov 3, 2009
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Would push for the classified next-generation strategic bomber, as well as cruise missiles,
intercontinental ballistic missiles and nuclear weapons technologies and facilities
Necessitated by concerns that the Air Force has lost the ability to effectively fight for itself
within the Defense Dept as a result of setbacks it has suffered in recent years
Sec Def Gates has questioned the continued need to maintain the nuclear weapons “triad” –
bombers, ICBMs and sea-based missiles (see report later on)
• Action item: Follow up with these people on
Congressional Visits Day. (Contacts on next page)
6 January 2010
Emerging Technologies Committee
Congressional Contacts for NGSLRB
Caucus
Rep. Madeleine Z. Bordallo and Rep. John Fleming
427 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, DC 201515-5301
Matthew Herrmann (Staff person for Bordallo)
202-225-1188
Matthew.herrmann@mail.house.gov
Ben Schultz (Staff person for Fleming)
202-225-2577
Ben.schultz@mail.house.gov
6 January 2010
Emerging Technologies Committee
Press Releases
End of Bomber Program
6 January 2010
Emerging Technologies Committee
More Press Releases
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9-15-09 Air Force Mag "We will have dollars" for a new bomber in the Fiscal 2011 budget, but it will probably be for research and
development only, Air Force Secretary Michael Donley told reporters after his speech at AFA's Air & Space conference Monday. The
bomber program was scuttled for 2010 by Defense Secretary Robert Gates, who wasn't satisfied that USAF had adequately figured out
what the bomber should be able to do. Donley said there's "more work" to be done fleshing out the revised concept for the bomber, and it
will be informed by the still-in-progress Nuclear Posture Review and Quadrennial Defense Review. Donley said there may not be
production money in Fiscal 2012, either. "The question is, how fast" will the bomber program have to proceed once it's defined, he added.
9-23-09 Air Force Mag Cut the F-35 To Buy New Bomber?: A new Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessment monograph
suggests that the Air Force should cut in half its buy of F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighters to pay for the kind of force the service will
need by 2028. Author Thomas Ehrhard, now special assistant to the Chief of Staff, believes the service will need the money it saves for
other higher priorities like a B-3 bomber.
12-03-09 Defense Daily AF ISR Chief Calls New Bomber Top Priority “We can not move forward without a platform that allows the
United States of America to project power long distances and to meet advances threats in a fashion that gives us an adequate advantage
that no other nation has,” said Lt. Gen. David Deptula AF Dep. Chief ISR. It’s a long range ISR-strike platform.
12-11-09 Defense News U.S. Def Sec Robert Gates said Dec. 11 the 2011 Pentagon spending request is likely to include funding for
development of a new Air Force bomber. “We are probably going to proceed with a long-range strike initiative coming out of the
Quadrennial Defense Review and various other reviews going on.” “We’re looking at a family of capabilities, both manned and
unmanned.” “Funding likely would start at $ 1 billion, and then ramp up in subsequent years.”
12-14-09 Air Force Mag Bomber Work May Resume in 2011: Defense Secretary Bob Gates halted work on the next-generation
bomber in 2010, but he told US troops in Iraq last week that it's likely the 2011 budget would include a new long-range strike capability for
the Air Force. He said that work on the Quadrennial Defense Review and other ongoing reviews point toward a new bomber under the
2011 budget and future years defense plan. Although Gates used the word "probably," we believe that's relates to timing because he said
in September that he supports a new long-range strike capability.
6 January 2010
Emerging Technologies Committee
New Reports
• Report recommends
Other facts from report
•Cost of new bomber $60B
• B-1 does not have nuclear capability
• B-52 depends on ALCM for nuclear
weapons
• B-2 is nuclear hardened
•Opposing view point given by John Loh 127-09 in Omaha World-Herald
6 January 2010
Emerging Technologies Committee
New Reports
• Report summarizes current
status of bomber force and
requirements for a new bomber
for members of congress
6 January 2010
Emerging Technologies Committee
Speculation from Bill Sweetman
Aviation Week 12-23-09
• Configuration based on NAD X-47
• NAD won $2B black program in 2008, survived
budget cuts of 2009
• Construction of a new large hangar at Groom
Lake. Screened from by berm
• Flight demo program – aero propulsion aspects
of a very stealthy flying wing design
• High altitude performance, operation above 60,000 feet for day light
stealth considerations
• Initial version would be manned, later aircraft would be unmanned
• Stealth will be very important to a bomber/ISR platform
• ISR capability would be inherent in a new-technology strike aircraft.
Characteristics such as long endurance, wide-band and passive radio
frequency sensors, and LO-compatible high bandwidth satcoms are
essential
• Nuclear capability for limited cases only with moderate degree of
electromagnetic pulse hardening.
6 January 2010
Emerging Technologies Committee
Summary
• Summary
– New white world bomber program in 2011
– Black world program is speculation
– Issues: manned or unmanned, nuclear capability is being
debated, ISR capability appears to be requirement, high speed
(supersonic/hypersonic) is a requirement for LRS
– Long Range Strike includes both bombers and weapons, AIAA
could provide a forum for both
• Actions taken
– Panel discussion at SDM
– Contact with Congressional staff person
6 January 2010
Emerging Technologies Committee
Recommendations
• Recommendations
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Panel discussion at 2011 SDM, need panel members
Panel discussion/session at Joint Propulsion Conference
Host USAF Panels on technology required at SDM, JPC, etc.
Form an AIAA Program Committee – Industry and customers
(AFRL, DARPA, ONR, USAF)
– Host sessions at appropriate conferences based on
recommendations from above two initiatives
– Follow-up with Congressional staff person on Congressional
visits day
6 January 2010
Emerging Technologies Committee