WASHINGTON, Oct. 27 (UPI) — Northrop Grumman is to build the next-generation Long Range Strike bomber for the U.S. Air Force, beating out a joint bid by Lockheed Martin and Boeing.
Announcement of the Air Force award — with an estimated value of as much as $80 billion over the life of the program — was made late Tuesday at the Pentagon by Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James.
Details of the new LRS-B remain sketchy. However, it will be a stealth aircraft, capable of carrying thermonuclear weapons and feature an open architecture for easy addition of new technologies as they arise. It is also expected to have a flying-wing design.
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