The genesis of the first strategic stealth bomber: Understanding the interactions between strategy, bureaucracy, politics, and technology

This article conducts a fresh analysis of the key developments - strategic and technological - that resulted in the world's first penetrating stealth bomber. It explores the tectonic shift in defense thinking, which began in the late 1960s as it became widely understood that the Soviet Union had matched the United States' advantage in nuclear weaponry. It then examines how the United States grappled with the issue of Soviet conventional numerical superiority and whether advances in air defenses rendered penetrating airpower - the air leg of the nuclear triad and a critical component of the United States' emerging strategy - impotent.

Automated summary

This article analyzes the strategic and technological developments that led to the creation of the world's first penetrating stealth bomber. It discusses the shift in defense thinking triggered by the Soviet Union's matching of the United States' nuclear weaponry advantage. It also explores the challenges the United States faced in dealing with Soviet conventional numerical superiority and advancements in air defenses.