Net gaila žiūrint: palyginti dar taip nesenai tai buvo labiausiai technologiškai advanced karinis lėktuvas pasaulyje (nepaisant kad buvo negražus, sunkiai valdomas ir t.t.). O dabar va taip baigia savo gyvenimą:
Net gaila žiūrint: palyginti dar taip nesenai tai buvo labiausiai technologiškai advanced karinis lėktuvas pasaulyje (nepaisant kad buvo negražus, sunkiai valdomas ir t.t.). O dabar va taip baigia savo gyvenimą:
The Pentagon on Tuesday awarded Northrop Grumman Corp. a contract valued by analysts at more than $20 billion to build new long-range bombers for the U.S. Air Force in what has been the most fiercely fought weapons contest in more than a decade.
Northrop Grumman was selected over a Boeing Co. and Lockheed Martin Corp. team to build the first 21 jets to replace aging B-52 and B-1 warplanes. The contract eventually could be worth $80 billion and provide 100 planes total. The first aircraft are due to enter service around 2025.
The new radar-evading bomber is designed to fly undetected over potential adversaries such as Russia or China that have upgraded their air defenses. The Pentagon has in recent months become increasingly concerned that these two countries are developing weapons that match or exceed U.S capabilities. The new plane would be capable of firing conventional and nuclear weapons, becoming the third leg of the nuclear triad alongside submarine and land-based ballistic missiles
Shares in Falls Church, Va.-based Northrop Grumman, which reports earnings Wednesday, rose 6.4% to $192.12 in after-hours trading following the announcement. Boeing and Lockheed Martin each fell more than 1% in late trading.
Boeing said it was surprised by the decision, and analysts said it will likely be protested as early as next week, extending a four-year selection process that has been clouded in secrecy leaving most of the bomber’s details highly classified. Lockheed declined comment.
Kad jo paskirtis kitokia. F-117 yra lengvasis, taktinis bombonešis, o tiek B-2, tiek planuojamas naujasis - strateginiai. Vietoje jo dabar naudoja F/A-18 ir F-22.
Galėjo bent jau parduoti kitoms šalims už likutinę vertę, nebent eksploatacija labai brangi?
Išties įdomu kodėl nepardavė. Gal pirkėjų tarp artimų patikimų partnerių neatsirado ? Šiaip iki šiol JAV niekam nepardavė jokių Stealth technologijų, bet dabar ateina F-35 , kuris ir kuriamas kartu su keliomis užsienio šalimis, ir bus tiekiamas ne vienai šaliai.
Jiems hipotetiškai gali tekti veikti ore, kuriame irgi hipotetiškai gali pasirodyti vos keli MiG-29, kurie realiai šiandien be akumuliatorių, rytoj be variklių, o poryt ir visai be nieko. Kroatams yra kur laisvai skraidyti, ne Lietuva. Nors va tokie žaisliukai labai patraukliai atrodo ir kainos, ir efektyvumo prasme, visai svarstytinas variantas
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