USAF Math Skills On Display In B-3 Bomber Miscalculation

The US Air Force’s new Long Range Strike Bomber (LRSB) will cost $58.2 billion up by $25 billion from previous year’s estimate of $33.1 billion for the next 10 years due to miscalculation.

The USAF attributed the miscalculation to human error saying the cost should have actually been $41.7 billion.

“We were surprised by the number when we saw it as well once it had been pointed out to us that it looked like the number had grown, because we’ve been using the same number,” General Mark Welsh, the service’s chief of staff was quoted as saying by Sputnik.

The LSRB will cost an estimated $500 million per bomber with a total cost of $55 billion to replace USAF’s 77 aging B-52 and 21 B-2 bombers.

A Government Accountability Office (GAO) report released at the end of July projected the entire spending between development and manufacture of USAF’s new strategic bomber, Long-Range Strike Bomber (LRS-B) at $33.1 billion and modernizing two in-service platforms- B2 Spirit and B-52 Stratofortress for $24.4 billion.

The report also forecast $1.3 billion spend on new tail-kits for the B61-12 nuclear bomb, which was successfully flight tested in mid-July.

“The Air Force plans to maintain its long-range attack capabilities through a combination of sustainment and modernization of its bombers. The Air Force plans to acquire a new bomber in the mid-2020s, which it expects to perform conventional missions and nuclear deterrence. At the same time, it plans to modernize the B-2 and B-52 bombers to enable them to retain long-range strike capabilities through the 2030s,” the report said.