Northrop’s $3 Billion B-2 Upgrades Lagging by Almost Three Years
- Fixes would help bomber evade defenses of China, Russia, Iran
- Air Force says date for combat aircraft slips to fall 2024
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Upgrades to help America’s aging B-2 bomber fleet detect and evade the improving air defenses of rivals China, Russia and Iran are running almost three years late and over budget.
The service now estimates it will take until at least until September 2024 before eight of the U.S.’s 20 stealth bombers are upgraded to have an initial combat capability, according to an Air Force statement. That’s 33 months later than the timetable established in 2016, when the project started, according to a program document submitted with this year’s budget request and the statement.