Helene Cooper writes that bombers may soon no longer be a part of the US Air Force:

• The country’s bomber fleet is ageing. It still uses 50 year old B-52s.
• In that time potential American adversaries have upgraded their air defenses to make it more difficult for America’s current fleet of bombers to attack.
• Some argue that bombers have become obsolete with submarines able to strike the same targets with greater ease.
• The air force takes various steps to increase the usefulness of bombers by, for example, altering the circadian rhythms of crew members to make them more alert during mission critical stages such as refueling and attacks.
• The Air Force is working to develop a next generation bomber with advanced stealth capabilities which would cost about $550 million per plane.

Read more about the roles that bombers have played in this decade, why they have been regulated to a support role, and more over here.

Source: The New York Times