Deep in the Mojave Desert, surrounded by tiers of barbed-wire fence, the nation's largest defense contractors work in secrecy designing and building the latest military aircraft at Air Force Plant 42.
"The Defense Department is serious about doing this program," said Todd Harrison, a defense analyst for the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments in Washington, D.C. "The last time they tried to upgrade their bomber force, they bought 21 B-2s. That's not nearly enough to modernize the fleet."
The B-2 fleet now numbers 20 - one crashed in Guam in 2008. The Air Force also has 66 B-1 bombers, built in the 1980s, and 85 B-52 bombers, which were built in the 1960s and modified for use today.
"The Air Force believes it's overdue for an upgrade," Harrison said, adding that funding for the new bomber program could already be under way through the Air Force's $12.6-billion classified, or "black," budget for weapons research and development.