American strategic aviation will be able to destroy enemy targets with nuclear weapons without response. With the new cruise missiles, missile-carrying bombers will be inaccessible to enemy air defense systems. Yesterday, on June 2, the press service of Raytheon Technologies announced the signing of a new contract with the US Air Force for the development of a Long Range Stand-Off missile (LRSO). As part of the design and production (EMD) phase, the contractor will have to complete all design work, assemble and test prototypes, and prepare a production line for the serial assembly of new cruise missiles. The cost of the work is estimated at $2 billion, they should be completed by 2027.
AGM-86B Cruise missile
Image source: airandspace.si.edu
Last year, it became known that the tender under the LRSO program was completed ahead of schedule. Promising Long Range Stand-Off cruise missiles (LRSO) are also planned to be put into service earlier than the announced deadline. The US Air Force chose Raytheon as the winner. The only competitor — Lockheed Martin-will also continue to participate in the project, but already as a subcontractor.
The new missile should replace the outdated AGM-86B (ALCM) cruise missile, which has been in operation since the 80s. Few technical details of the LRSO program are known yet. It is known that these missiles must have increased stealth to overcome advanced air defense systems, and will have a range of over 1,500 miles (2,414 km). The carriers of the new rocket will be the B-52 and B-21.
Modernization of the American nuclear arsenal began in 2013 as part of the implementation of the "3+2" strategy, within 25 years, seven types of nuclear warheads will be replaced with five new ones. According to the head of the National Nuclear Security Administration, Frank Klotz, " the United States will have in its nuclear arsenal three warheads for land-based and sea-based missiles, as well as two types of warheads delivered by air. One of them is a free-fall bomb, the second is a warhead mounted on a cruise missile." According to various estimates, the US nuclear rearmament may cost about $1 trillion, of which $350 billion will be spent in the next decade.
