As a first step toward a new family of bombers, the U.S. ought to develop a fleet of at least 100 “optionally manned planes” that can carry a payload of 20,000 pounds (9,072 kilograms) and fly as far as 5,000 nautical miles, Mark Gunzinger, a fellow at the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, an independent Washington-based defense research group, wrote in a report last year.
Such a plane may cost as much as $500 million each and take about 15 years to develop, according to Gunzinger, the author of the study “Sustaining America’s Strategic Advantage in Long- Range Strike,” which was published in September.
Gunzinger said that plane should be supplemented by an unmanned bomber that can fly off of U.S. aircraft carriers and go 1,500 nautical miles; a long-range cruise missile; non- nuclear ballistic missiles that can strike targets within hours; and planes that can disable enemy radar.
These elements would be a new “family of systems” that enables the U.S. military to strike targets deep in countries like Iran and China, Gunzinger said.