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| Lockheed Martin/Boeing LRS-B concept |
By Franz-Stefan Gady
The U.S. Air Force misstated the costs for its top-secret program in a report to Congress.
The costs of the top-secret Long-Range Strike Bomber (LRS-B)–likely to be designated B-3–have gone up due to a calculation error, according to the U.S. Air Force. The 2014 Department of Defense’s ten-year budget estimate for fiscal years 2015-2025 for the bomber program was $33.1 billion. This year’s estimate for fiscal years 2016-2026 jumped up to $58.4 billion.
However, according to Bloomberg Business, the U.S. Air Force now claims that both numbers are wrong and that the actual ten-year costs (the first installment in the 30-year program) were $41.7 billion for each period. The USAF did not offer an explanation for the discrepancies.
“The Air Force is working through the appropriate processes to ensure” that the congressionally mandated report “is corrected, and that our reports in subsequent years are accurate,” an U.S. Air Force spokesperson told Bloomberg Business.
The U.S. Air Force is expected to buy 80 to 100 bombers. Northrup Grumman is competing against Boeing and Lockheed Martin, which have partnered up to be the primary contractor for the LRS-B. The contract is likely to be awarded in September, according to military.com.
Read the full story at The Diplomat