NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. — The US Air Force will disclose the cost to develop a shadowy next-generation bomber after awarding a contract to build the new plane, a top official pledged.  
 
The government and industry have invested "a sizeable amount" of money in risk reduction, research and development of the Pentagon's Long Range Strike Bomber, William LaPlante, assistant secretary of the Air Force for acquisition, told reporters on Tuesday. LaPlante would not give any specific figures, but promised the Pentagon will release the total cost of the bomber program to date after source selection. 
 
"We intend to provide that information, we're not trying to hide it, it's just that I would rather wait — and I think we'd all rather wait — until after we get the source selection done," LaPlante said at the Air Force Association's annual conference. "We don't expect anybody just to believe us at face value."


LaPlante's pledge comes weeks before the Pentagon is widely expected to announce which industry team will build the LRS-B, which is intended to replace the Air Force's aging fleet of B-1 and B-52 bombers. The stakes are high for the two competitors: Northrop Grumman, builder of the B-2, and a team of Boeing and Lockheed Martin. 
 
In anticipation of the award, the Air Force revealed that it has two robust designs in hand that are complete down to the level of individual access panels. The next challenge will be integrating the mature technologies, with particular risk anticipated in the integration of the engines and the placement of antennas onto the airframe. 
 
The total amount spent on the bomber so far will include the design and risk reduction done by the two industry teams, LaPlante said. The number will also include money the Pentagon spent last decade on a previous bomber replacement program, the Next-Generation Bomber, a subsonic aircraft planned to enter service around 2018. 
 
"I count not just what the government spent, I count what the government has spent in the prior decade … I count [the amount of money] these companies have invested on their own," LaPlante said. "So it's a sizeable amount of risk reduction, but even the amount of risk reduction when we give you the number [will] not give the magnitude, in my opinion."


The Pentagon has made affordability a focus from the start, LaPlante stressed. The target price, $550 million a copy in 2010 dollars, has remained stable since the program's inception. That unit cost is a key performance parameter for the program, meaning that a company can be disqualified if its price fails to reach that goal. This approach drove "appetite suppressant," with industry forced to hit the brakes on ideas with excessive price tags, LaPlante said.   
 
When the contract is awarded, it will come in two parts — an EMD contract that is cost-plus incentive free, and an agreement on the first five low-rate initial production lots that is fixed-price incentive free. Those first five lots will cover the production of 21 bombers.

Top Air Force officials have told reporters to expect the final downselect "soon," but have disclosed no further details.

Email: lseligman@defensenews.com
Twitter: @laraseligman

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