B-2隐形轰炸机携带新的核巡航导弹

汉斯·克里斯滕森（Hans M. Kristensen）

The U.S. Air Force plans to arm the B-2A stealth bomber with a new nuclear cruise missile that is in the early stages of development, according to Air Force officials and budget documents.

The B-2A bomber, which is designed to slip through air defenses undetected, does not currently have a capability to deliver nuclear cruise missiles, a role reserved exclusively for B-52H bombers.

然而，根据空军的计划，新的核巡航导弹（称为远程对峙武器）将武装三个核轰炸机：B-2A，B-52H和下一代远程罢工轰炸机。

最近的陈述

The disclosure that the new nuclear cruise missile will be carried on the B-2A, B-52H, as well as the next generation bomber has emerged in recent Air Force testimony to Congress, the Air Force’s FY2014 budget request, and in a little notice interview inAir Force Magazine。

空军战略威慑与核整合助理参谋长Garrett Harencak少将，通知国会上周认为，远程对峙（LRSO）核巡航导弹“将一开始就设计为与B-52，B-2和LRS-B和LRS-B兼容”（远程罢工轰炸机）。

空军全球罢工司令官詹姆斯·科瓦尔斯基中将，确认的：“ LRSO将是衰老ALCM的后续，并与B-52，B-2和LRS-B兼容。”

空军预算要求对于2014财年而言，B-2上的集成已经作为一个称为灵活罢工的计划的一部分正在进行中：

B-2武器升级将新的和/或先进的武器集成到B-2上，以解决更广泛的目标集，包括移动目标，并坚硬，深埋的目标。灵活的罢工阶段1计划（以前称为商店管理运营计划重新主持）将重新组合并主持当前的B-2存储管理软件到新的集成处理器上，提供处理和带宽以处理诸如B61之类的高级数字武器-12或远程站立（LRSO）。

计划于2017年财年的灵活打击阶段1计划的生产和野外计划，及时在2019年获得新的指导性B61-12炸弹和2020年代末LRSO Cruise导弹。

昂贵的新核武器

In the public debate about the cost of nuclear weapons modernizations, it is often said that the new long-range strike bomber is not a significant nuclear cost because most of its mission is non-nuclear. But that ignores the expensive nuclear payloads (B61-12 and LRSO) that are intended to arm the new bomber.

The full cost of the new nuclear cruise missile is not known yet, because it will not become operational until the mid/late-2020s. But the budget projections in the FY2014 budget request indicate that it will be a very expensive weapon system.

在未来五年内,设计和开发ment costs for the missile are expected to reach more than $1 billion. Costs will presumably continue to accumulate significantly through the mid/late-2020s as full-scale production and delivery of the weapon get underway.

In addition to the cost of the missile itself, the production of the nuclear warhead will add even more. Rather than a new warhead, the Air Force plans to use a life-extended version of an existing warhead: W80-1, W84, or the B61. If other life-extension programs are any indication, then the LRSO warhead program can be expected to cost several billion dollars.

使命

The B-2A bomber is designed to penetrate air defenses undetected. So why would the Air Force want to add a nuclear cruise missile to its mission? The answer appears to be that expected improvements in enemy air defense systems by 2030 will make the stealth bomber less stealthy and that a standoff capability therefore is needed for the nuclear strike mission.

When deployed on the B-2A, the LRSO will give the stealth bombers a nuclear standoff capability to carry out missions in heavy air defense environments,according to Billy Mullins，，，，The associated director of strategic deterrence and nuclear integration on the Air Staff.

但这并不能完全解释为什么空军决定使新的巡航导弹兼容三个都轰炸机。毕竟，B-52H已经提供了僵持功能。也许LRSO将具有双重能力（尽管尚未说明），或者空军只是决定向所有三个轰炸机添加新的核巡航导弹，以提供最大的灵活性。

新的核巡航导弹可能具有与空军的高级巡航导弹（ACM）相似或更好的范围和隐形功能retiredin 2007. The Air Force英石atesLRSO“将能够从重要的立场范围内渗透和幸存高级综合防空系统（IAD），以起诉战略目标，以支持空军的全球攻击能力和战略威慑核心功能。”

扩大核能力

由于B-2A目前不携带仅针对B-52H轰炸机的核巡航导弹，但仅载有重力炸弹（B61-7，B61-11和B83-1），因此增加了LRSO的军事能力会大大提高军事能力B-2A武器系统。

Moreover, adding LRSO capability to三个都轰炸机将是美国轰炸机舰队的核巡航导弹能力的重大扩展。目前，大约528个ALCM被分配给44个B-52H轰炸机。^ndand 5^Th炸弹翅膀。将来，还有509^ThBomb Wing at Whiteman AFB would also receive nuclear cruise missiles, as would the bases that receive the next-generation bomber.

Most important in term of capability, perhaps, is the transition of nuclear cruise missiles onto stealth platforms (B-2A and LRS-B) that have a much better penetration capability than the current cruise missile carrier (B-52H). This will significantly change where and when in a conflicts nuclear cruise missiles can be used, an enhancement that will be boosted even further by the fact that the LRSO cruise missile probably will be more advanced than the ALCM it replaces.

It seems a bit strange, though, to spend money adding LRSO capability to the B-52H because that bomber is scheduled to retain the ALCM to 2030 and retire only 10 years later. The ALCM is currently undergoing refurbishment to ensure that it can remain in service through the 2020s.

Overall, the nuclear capability of the bomber force is expected to change significantly over the next couple of decades as older weapons are retired and new ones added. In addition to the new LRSO, this includes the new guided B61-12 bomb and the possible retirement of the B61-7 and B83-1 bombs.

最终，B-2A和B-52H（以及非核B-1B）都将被100个远程罢工轰炸机取代。不过，可能并不是所有人都具有核能力，但也许一半配备了B61-12和LRSO核武器。

Implications and Recommendations

为B-2A隐形轰炸机增加核巡航导弹能力的含义是很多。其中包括提高军事能力，广泛的成本以及国际对美国核军备控制政策的看法^英石century.

如果人们认为仍然需要核巡航导弹，那么一种更好且较便宜的替代方法将仅在下一代轰炸机中添加LRSO能力，并在当前ALCM在2030年退休时逐步淘汰B-52H的核能力。

Either way, deploying an improved nuclear cruise missile on improved stealthy bombers appears to challenge the Obama administration’s promise to reduce the role of nuclear weapons and not to add military capabilities during life-extension programs.

美国并不是唯一一个持续的密苏里州dernization of nuclear weapons. Russia is also building a new nuclear cruise missile for its bombers, and China is adding cruise missiles to some of its intermediate-range bomber (although there is no indication yet that they are nuclear). France has just introduced a new nuclear cruise missile on its fighter-bombers, and Pakistan is working on two nuclear cruise missiles for its aircraft.

These are only a fraction of the nuclear modernizations underway in all the nuclear weapons states. All hold speeches about ending nuclear arms competition, reducing the numbers and role of nuclear weapons, and pursuing a world free of nuclear weapons, yet all continue to do what they have always done: building and deploying new nuclear weapons.

Plowshares Fund的赠款使该出版物成为可能。所作的陈述和表达的观点仅是作者的责任。