{"id":17037,"date":"2017-09-19T14:12:38","date_gmt":"2017-09-19T14:12:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/uncategorized\/2017\/09\/19\/air-force-chief-bomber-bases-will-keep-that-capability-even-as-inventory-changes\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T20:26:48","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T20:26:48","slug":"air-force-chief-bomber-bases-will-keep-that-capability-even-as-inventory-changes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/news\/your-air-force\/2017\/09\/19\/air-force-chief-bomber-bases-will-keep-that-capability-even-as-inventory-changes\/","title":{"rendered":"Air Force chief: Bomber bases will keep that capability, even as inventory changes"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. \u2014 The Air Force will be ready to present its \u201cbomber roadmap\u201c to Defense Secretary Jim Mattis this fall, but one thing is already certain: Bases that have bombers now will retain that capability, even as older platforms like the B-1B Lancer retire.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBased on the infrastructure required to support a bomber force, it\u2019s highly likely that if you\u2019ve got a bomber at your base, you\u2019re going to have a bomber at your base,\u201d Air Force Chief of Staff David Goldfein told Defense News in a Sept. 18 interview at the Air Force Association\u2019s annual conference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019re the service that actually projects power from our bases, they are actually part of our weapon system. So, the investment that we\u2019ve made in places like Whiteman [Air Force Base, in Missouri] and other places that have bombers, we\u2019re going to sustain that investment going forward.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Click here for the latest coverage from the Air Force Association annual conference<\/a><\/b>
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Gen. Robin Rand, head of Air Force Global Strike Command, has taken the lead on the bomber roadmap that will detail the service\u2019s plans to modernize the bomber force, including future capabilities like the B-21 Raider and the eventual retirements of the B-1 and B-52.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Air Force will brief Mattis on the roadmap sometime over the next few months, but until the defense secretary determines it is in line with the administration\u2019s defense strategy and signs off on the plan, no decisions will be made on the future of the B-52, B-1, B-2 and B-21, Goldfein said.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Sources have told Defense News that a bomber road map might be dropping soon. Gen. David Goldfein, the U.S. Air Force chief of staff, sits down with Defense News TV at the AFA symposium to address that rumor, and discuss the future of the B-52 and existing bomber infrastructure.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n

Goldfein said that as the review has progressed, it has become c lear that the B-52 \u2014 the oldest bomber in the Air Force, dating from the 1950s \u2014 remains a viable capability in terms of its expansive range and payload.
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\u201cWhat can I do with this platform if it\u2019s actually a node in a network? Are there actually things I can put in that bomb bay that haven\u2019t been invented yet?\u201d Goldfein asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen I look at the capabilities of what a bomber aircraft does in terms of the range it can fly, the persistence over the battlespace it provides and the payload it can bring, it brings all kinds of new, different ways of using that going forward. So it\u2019s beyond a bomber discussion. It\u2019s actually beyond a platform discussion. This is about an agile network.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If the B-1 Lancers are retired first, that could mean bases like Dyess Air Force Base in Texas and Ellsworth AFB in South Dakota could be among the first to receive the B-21 Raider. The service has kept information about the newest bomber\u2019s progress under lock and key, but Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson reiterated Monday that the program has remained on track since last year\u2019s preliminary design review.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A key part of the bomber roadmap has been service leaders\u2019 extensive consultations with Congress about potential plans of action.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s an inclusive dialogue that we\u2019re having,\u201d Goldfein said. \u201cIt\u2019s really important to distinguish between that which the nation needs and that which the Air Force can afford, because there\u2019s a difference there. What we\u2019re talking to Congress about is this combination of, \u2018Hey, here\u2019s what the national military strategy says what we need, and here\u2019s what we think is a way forward in terms of what may very well be the topline that we have to work with,\u2019 So then we build the best Air Force that we can.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Should the Air Force decide to retain the B-52 through the 2050s, as leaders have said will likely be the case, it will also have to make a decision on whether to replace the aircraft\u2019s TF33 engines built by Pratt & Whitney.<\/p>\n\n\n\t