Stealth Reborn

The most intriguing possibility of all, though, is the persistent rumor that the Next Generation Bomber is actually cover for a secret "black" program to develop an unmanned nuclear-capable bomber. Last spring, Aviation Week laid out the case: Funding for the Next Generation Bomber is nowhere to be found in the most recent Air Force budget, yet financial results released by Northrop last April show $2 billion in new "classified programs" at the company's aircraft division. Northrop, which built the B-2, more recently won the contract to build the X-47B, a Navy demonstrator drone that will fly later this year. Because the company had previously proposed building a bigger version of the X-47, many experts believe that the black bomber rumored to be under development at Northrop is an unmanned aircraft derived from both the X-47 and the B-2 -- like, say, an unmanned variation on the Next Generation Bomber. For Boeing's part, its president of advanced systems, Darryl Davis, told the Seattle Times last January that his company was "agnostic" about whether the plane would be manned or unmanned.

Why would the Air Force prefer to skip the pilot? Simple: An unmanned craft would be smaller, cheaper, and have almost unlimited endurance. "Without a pilot, you can remain over the target area for days at a time," says John Pike, director of the Virginia-based think tank GlobalSecurity.org. "You've always got air power on call." Pike says the Air Force "got religion" about unmanned planes in Iraq, where more than 1,000 smaller drones have been successfully used for reconnaissance and air strikes. This year marks the first time in history that the Air Force will buy more unmanned planes than manned ones.

That said, it's one thing to have a small unmanned plane carry conventional bombs and missiles but quite another to load up a robot plane with 28,000 pounds of nuclear weapons. As a recent congressional report put it, a nuclear-equipped robot bomber is likely to be controversial at best. If this is what the Air Force has in mind, no wonder it's keeping it a secret.

PILOT LIGHT?
Boeing has said that it is "agnostic" about whether the bomber will be manned or unmanned. Doing away with a pilot would extend the potential length of missions -- but a robot plane filled with nuclear warheads is sure to raise eyebrows among lawmakers.

LOW PROFILE
The Next Generation Bomber could have a radar signature one tenth that of a mosquito thanks to sleek lines that don't reflect radar signals.

OFFENSE AND DEFENSE
Heavy munitions can take out buried or hardened targets such as bunkers and weapons caches. The bomber will carry 14,000 to 28,000 pounds of payload. And unlike today's stealth bombers, the new craft could carry air-to-air missiles for self-defense. If necessary, it could even fly at the center of a "wolf pack" that includes fighter planes and guided missiles.