A bipartisan group of six Senators on March 26 sent a letter to President Obama urging him to preserve the next generation bomber (NGB) in the Fiscal 2010 defense budget. Despite protests to the contrary, there is strong sentiment that the NGB is on the Administration hit list among weapons cuts sure to come in the new budget. The Senators write that terminating the NGB “would do tremendous damage to our nation’s future ability to project power abroad.” They reminded the President that senior Administration officials have agreed the new bomber is “absolutely critical.” The Senators are: John Cornyn (R-Tex.), Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Tex.), Tim Johnson (D-S.D.), Mary Landrieu (D-La.), John Thune (R-S.D.), and David Vitter (R-La.)
The first flight of the secretive B-21 bomber has slipped to mid-2022, but the program is moving along well, Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office director Randall Walden said in an exclusive interview. The second copy of the B-21, which will be used for structural testing, is now on the production…