The boss of USAF acquisition William LaPlante spoke at a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on March 19 and indicated that the forthcoming Long Range Strike – Bomber (LRS-B) will be structured for a fixed-price production phase. Fixed-price contracts have tended to be associated with mature programswhere cost implications are well understood thorough knowledge of development phases.
While the competitors Lockheed Martin/Boeing and Northrop Grumman will have spent a considerable amount of time and money on their respective bids, and with a development phase planned to start following contract award