Publication

Since 2005, US Air Force (USAF) leaders have committed themselves to fielding a new land-based, penetrating, long-range strike system (LRSS) by 2018. The new LRSS program remains classified. This analysis, therefore, concentrates less on exactly what sort of system the US ought to field than on why it seems unwise to defer initial operational capability to the late 2030s or beyond, as earlier Air Force plans proposed.