2037 Bomber

The 2037 Bomber is the unofficial name given to a heavy strategic bomber planned by the United States Air Force. It is projected to enter service in 2037 as a stealthy, supersonic, long-range, heavy-payload, possibly unmanned aircraft to potentially replace the B-52 Stratofortress, which entered service in 1955 and is scheduled to be retired in 2040.

Development
With the ending of B-2 production in the early 1990s, the U.S. Air Force was left with a gap in its bomber development. A new bomber would be needed in the 2037 time frame to replace retiring B-52s and B-1s according to the Air Force's Bomber Roadmap, released in 1999. This was considered too long to wait, as the Air Force needed an interim bomber before the 2030s. This left the aircraft proposed for 2037 as more of a heavy bomber than a medium bomber.

Specifications

 * Supersonic max speed
 * Ability to carry nuclear weapons
 * Possible requirement for unmanned technology