Common Airframe for New Bomber, Gunship?

Posted on: Apr. 14th, 2006 || Source: military.com | E-mail Article | Print Article

Common Airframe for New Bomber, Gunship?

Air Combat Command officials are examining whether the Air Force's next long-range bomber and its future gunship could be based on the same airframe, Inside the Air Force has learned.

With both next-generation aircraft tasked with carrying out "global persistent attack" missions -- coupled with ever-tightening defense budgets -- Air Force officials plan to study whether developing a common baseline airframe is feasible, Lt. Col. Steven Knutson, Air Force Special Operations Command's test, technology and experimentation division chief, told ITAF April 3.

The initial capabilities document for AFSOC's AC-130 gunship replacement has been designated a “foundation document” for the analysis of alternatives ACC is conducting on the military's future long-range bomber, he said.

Prior to the release of the 2005 Quadrennial Defense Review in February, the Office of the Secretary of Defense told U.S. Special Operations Command its “numbers for a gunship are so small that you need to look at the possibility of joining up with ACC and using [the] platform” the Langley, VA-based command will eventually pursue for the new bomber, Knutson said.

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