Originally posted by Chairboy
So you're asserting that bombers are not heading towards obsolecense?
My belief is that the price of smart weapons will drop enough that they will replace bombers. Tiny cruise missiles that can dodge through canyons (avoiding threats that would get a bomber) will drop in price, and improvements in artillery and soldier deployed weapons (like the smart guns that can fire electronically fused grenades) will dominate the battlefield of tomorrow. Saturation bombing is going to be less and less relevant going forward based on the nature of threats we're facing. No big standing armies, it's more person-to-person now.
I'm guessing that a new bomber project would become seen similar to the Seawolf submarine: A fantastic technology that can do amazing things... that are no longer needed.
My actual belief is that the United States will no longer need long-range manned bombers within the next century. I only say "new bomber" because I feel as if UAV technology won't be on that big of a scale before the B-52's lifespan runs out. They'll have to have another manned bomber to fill the gaps.
Keep in mind a bomber is anything that will drop payload on a target. As you said, Tomahawks can be bombers with the right equipment. I think that is the direction we're headed.
It'll just be some time before we see it.
