US Air Force budget documents indicate a decrease in expenditure on the B-1 Lancer and B-2 Spirit strategic bombers by the end of the 2020s. The focus of the service is shifting towards the next-generation B-21 Raider nuclear bomber and the B-52H Stratofortress, which will be designated as the B-52J following an upgrade.
Here’s What We Know Global Strike Command has consistently expressed its intention to allocate its limited human and financial resources to the B-21 Raider and B-52 Stratofortress. The service also aims to retire the B-1 Lancer and B-2 Spirit, as these bombers have not demonstrated high mission effectiveness in recent years.
The Spirit fleet comprises 20 aircraft, but Global Strike Command can only utilize 14 of them, as the rest are either undergoing testing or undergoing maintenance. Additionally, the maintenance of stealth systems is complex and requires a significant number of man-hours. The B-21 Raider is expected to be much more efficient in this regard.
The B-1 supersonic bomber fleet has recently been reduced to 45 units. Despite this, the US Air Force has decided to retain funding and expertise to enhance the capability of these strategic aircraft.
For the fiscal years 2024-2028 (FY), the service has requested $284.9 million from the US Congress for purchases related to the B-2 Spirit. The funding will commence at $107.9 million in FY2024 and nearly halve to $57.16 million in FY2025. By FY2028, it will sharply decrease to $15.78 million.
The funding for research, development, testing, and evaluation of the B-2 Spirit exhibits an even steeper decline, starting at $87.6 million in FY2024 and tapering down to a few thousand dollars in FY2028. Most of the funds will be allocated to avionics upgrades.
Regarding procurement funding for the B-1 Lancer, the US Air Force is seeking $12.8 million in FY2024, $3.31 million in FY2025, $4.74 million in FY2026, and approximately $1 million in FY2027-2028. The service also requires $32.68 million for research and development in FY2024-2025, and a minimal amount in FY2027-2028.
The B-1 will also be equipped with new weapon systems. The US Air Force has discontinued Lockheed Martin’s Air-launched Rapid Response Weapon (ARRW) program due to unsuccessful tests. Instead, the focus is on the hypersonic missile being developed by Raytheon and Northrop Grumman as part of the Hypersonic Attack Cruise Missile (HACM) program.