Boeing has always believed that the market (especially in Asia) will want big long-range aircraft to fly point-to-point rather than super-jumbos using hub airports.
The government says it looked at other nuclear-deterrent systems, including launching adapted Trident missiles from land or ships, or firing cruise missiles from long-range aircraft.
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As is the case with much severe weather, we simply see more than we did prior to satellites and (in the case of hurricanes) long-range aircraft reconnaissance.
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They also favor naval power, but ships take a much longer time than planes to get places in the vast expanses of the Western Pacific, and the Navy has little in the way of long-range aircraft.
It also argues for a stealth long-range attack aircraft as part of the airwing to provide more flexibility on how we employ our carriers.
Having recently reversed himself on the bomber and approved Air Force plans to develop a new long-range strike aircraft, the defense secretary needs to also revisit his decision on F-22.
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She would also appreciate its importance in the projection of American power in Asia and beyond as much of the nation's long-range transport aircraft supplying our military operations around the world transit through Elmendorf.
In the past few years, India has ordered from Boeing the C-17 Globemaster airlifters as well P8I long-range maritime reconnaissance and antisubmarine aircraft.
Investigators of the February crash found that interference from PLBs carried by passengers had caused the "smart" long-range rescue beacons on the aircraft and life rafts to shut down.
Even after all twenty B-2's are delivered, the inventory of long-range bombers will total barely 200 aircraft.
Andrew Krepinevich, a radical defence analyst whose thinking has been endorsed, in part, by Mr Rumsfeld, cites several weapon systems which deserve higher priority: long-range bombers, missiles and unmanned aircraft, ships designed for coastal warfare, and submarines which can fire cruise missiles.
At present the nation's long-range bomber force consists primarily of two aircraft: the B-52 and the B-1.
The New York Times has reported that a major Israeli air exercise involving more than 100 F-15 and F-16 aircraft took place in early June and was apparently designed to develop long-range bombing techniques.
The long-range bomber force dwindled to a handful of decrepit Cold War aircraft.
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It stretched out construction of aircraft carriers, delayed development of a new long-range bomber, and started over on several helicopters.
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They warn that national security will be dangerously exposed without the aircraft, which would have continued to provide long-range reconnaissance and surveillance, and protect the Royal Navy's Trident submarines.
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