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posted by janrinok on Friday October 30 2015, @08:12PM   Printer-friendly
from the and-not-cheap dept.

The US Department of Defense has announced that Northrup Grumman will be supplying its next generation of Long Range Strike Bomber (LRSB) to replace the aging B-52 and B-2 fleets.

"Over the past century, no nation has used air power to accomplish its global reach -- to compress time and space -- like the United States," said Defense Secretary Ash Carter

"Building this bomber is a strategic investment in the next 50 years, and represents our aggressive commitment to a strong and balanced force. It demonstrates our commitment to our allies and our determination to potential adversaries, making it crystal clear that the United States will continue to retain the ability to project power throughout the globe long into the future."

The first prototypes of the new bomber won't take to the skies until 2025 at the earliest, and is unlikely to be operational for years after that. But it's going to be packed with the latest technology to shield it from ever-smarter missiles and other weapons systems.
...
Like the B-2, it will be using radar-absorbing materials and high-tech weapons. Directed-energy anti-missile technology has been touted for the aircraft by some analysts, as has the ability to carry electronic payloads that could disrupt enemy computer systems.

Yes, Ye Children of Slashdot, this one will have frickin' laser beams.


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  • (Score: 5, Insightful) by edIII on Friday October 30 2015, @11:33PM

    by edIII (791) on Friday October 30 2015, @11:33PM (#256718)

    I would rather pay people to sit at home playing XBOX and selling weed, then building huge bomber fleets that *also* magically make billionaires back here at home.

    Dunno about other people, but I have always found it intensely abhorrent that ANY American gets paid millions of dollars to contribute to our country's defense. Fucking disgusting little shits, and I would love to beat the shit out of them the very moment they begin to claim themselves as patriots. There is nothing patriotic about being a leech on society during war time, and there are no greater leeches than Wall Street and the Military Industry Complex. Some defense industry executive is drinking $20,000 dollar wine (like Pharma Bro), snorting lines of coke off a hooker's ass, and our soldiers are dying without the bullet proof technology that private mercenaries receive instead.

    What happened to loving your country? I'm not against profit, but 55 fucking billion dollars? You damn well know there are several individuals involved, all excited Capitalists, that honestly believe it's moral and just that *they* get compensated to the tune of millions personally. If this was really war time, and like World War II, I would drag the executives out into the street and *SHOOT* them dead. War profiteering deserves no less of a punishment, as they've wholly betrayed their fellow citizens in the worst way.

    I have to be honest. I take great offense at your statement as it implies the 55 fucking billion dollars has greater moral standing than a citizen quietly sitting at home peaceably enjoying themselves and choosing to sell what is essentially a plant. Also, why the hell would you agree to 55 billion? At that price point, it makes no sense logistically. We just don't need anything that *badly*.

    To be clear, I think any hard core street thug from Compton probably has the moral high ground over any Wall Street executive, or Military Industry Complex leech. Sure, he's a thug. Sure, his base desires run him. Does he actually think, and work towards, harming millions of Americans at the same time? Nope. You take some executives though, like ones from Johnson & Johnson, and they'll deliberately poison and terrorize a family on a farm for 5 decades because they can. Most of the thugs simply aren't psychopathic enough to do that, it takes an Ivy League MBA/Lawyer to do it!

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  • (Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday October 31 2015, @12:02AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Saturday October 31 2015, @12:02AM (#256731)

    [...] I would drag the executives out into the street and *SHOOT* them dead.

    ...thereby enriching the makers of your gun and ammunition.