Secret $80bn bomber praised by Pentagon inspector general

Bloomberg

The Air Force’s classified next-generation bomber programme began with a solid plan for meeting cost goals and warfighting requirements, which include an option to fly unmanned missions, according to a newly declassified audit from the Pentagon’s inspector general.
The challenge will be sticking to that plan. The early praise for the $80 billion B-21 programme came about a month before the Air Force selected Northrop Grumman Corp. over a rival team consisting of
Boeing Co. and Lockheed Martin Corp. for the bomber contract in late 2015.
While big-ticket weapons systems like the B-21 frequently end up with significant cost increases and production delays, in the initial stages the Air Force was cited for its “comprehensive acquisition strategy and risk-management process to support a cost-effective programme,” according to the audit. The programme had “clearly defined requirements to ensure” warfighter “needs are being met,” it added.
That initial assessment is no guarantee the B-21 won’t encounter serious cost, schedule and performance problems as system development continues, with the service seeking to declare an initial operating capability by the “mid to late 2020s,” Global Strike Command spokesman Joe Thomas said. The aircraft’s first flight “along with specific details of the technical capability of this platform, is protected by enhanced security measures,” he added.
The previously classified audit was released this month under a Freedom of Information Act request after the service made major redactions, adding additional secrecy to a programme critics such as Republican Senator John McCain, chairman of the Armed Services Committee, have complained was already excessively classified.
The inspector general’s report also disclosed details about the B-21’s expected capabilities. In addition to being able to carry and deliver a modified B-61 nuclear bomb two years after reaching its initial operating capability stage, the bomber will also be capable of unmanned operations.
Because the audit is redacted, it could not be determined whether the service allowed only favorable conclusions to be released while keeping any criticism cloaked in secrecy. The Air Force released the conclusion that the service had a detailed contracting strategy but blacked out a paragraph that preceded the sentence “under this approach the Federal Government assumes some of the research and development risk.”
The praise also means the inspector general’s assessment will come under scrutiny if the programme veers off track, in costs or performance, as it proceeds.
Still, the conclusions released mark the second time an outside group has praised the service’s acquisition approach.
Despite McCain’s criticism of excessive secrecy, Congress has supported the programme, approving $2 billion in the fiscal 2018 policy bill the Air Force requested towards added staffing for Northrop Grumman, software development and producing detailed engineering drawings.