After a hiatus of almost 33 years, now the B-21 Raider stealth bomber is back with bombastic features. The first of the 21st century B-21 Raider bombers and the US Air Force’s subsequent stealth bombers, will be unveiled to the public for the first time in early December, Air Force acquisitions chief Andrew Hunter said Tuesday.
After 33 years of major gaps, the world will finally see the world’s new strategic bomber and stealth bomber after the B-2. The US Air Force has finally confirmed that the B-21 Raider stealth bomber will open its cover at a ceremony hosted and sponsored by Northrop Grumman Corporation at its production facility in Palmdale, California.
Andrew Hunter, assistant secretary of the US Air Force revealed at the 2022 aviation, space and networking conference that the first B-21 “Raider” program will debut later this year, which was confirmed by manufacturer Northrop Grumman, meaning that this new bomber, since it was launched in 2014, it will soon enter the “harvest period”.
As the successor to the B-2 wing layout stealth strategic bomber, the B-21 Raider program remains top secret. The first six prototypes, currently under construction at US Air Force Plant 42 in Palmdale, California, an aircraft manufacturing plant jointly managed by the US Air Force and Northrop Grumman, are also the site of the B-2 stealth strategic bomber, the result of the Advanced Tactical Bomber program. (ATB) in the 1980s.
Northrop Grumman revealed that the opening ceremony in early December this year, there will be “invitations” to attend, in general, workers and families from aircraft manufacturers, the Pentagon, US Air Force executives, etc.
In November 1988, the first B-2 prototype with aircraft number 82-1066/AV-1 was first publicly launched at this factory, and first flew in July of the second year, and the B-21 is also expected to make its first flight in the year. front.
In particular, the static test of the aircraft is still being promoted. The announcement comes at a time when the United States is at a crossroads with its two biggest foes Russia in Eastern Europe and China in the Indo-Pacific. Both Russia and China are also working on their stealth bomber programs, the PAK-DA and H-2O, respectively.
Furthermore, the US Air Force has strengthened and upgraded Bomber Task Force (BTF) missions with its existing fleet of B-52s and B-2 Spirits on frequent flights across Europe. Once the B-21 is deployed, it will add to the U.S. Air Force’s long-range bombing capability.
The B-21 Raider is a 5th generation stealth bomber, having the same flying wing design as the B-2 Spirit series that was born in 1989. Quoted from Defense View, the US Air Force has not disclosed the features of the B-21 series, but is expected to integrates advanced stealth technology, carries multiple weᴀponѕ and is highly automated.
Stealth capabilities and modern weᴀponѕ make the B-21 known as America’s new generation of stealth killers. The B-21 project has a development cost of approximately 23.5 billion USD, of which the production cost is approximately 656 million USD each. The first aircraft could be commissioned in 2025.
The Pentagon plans to purchase 100 of these aircraft to replace the B-2 and part of the B-1B Lancer fleet. Currently, the B-21 costs only 1/3 of the B-2 aircraft. Although the B-2 was highly prized in combat, it was too expensive to manufacture and operate.
Once the B-21s enter service, they will gradually replace the tasks the B-2 performs in the role of infiltrating the enemy’s dense defense network to attack and destroy critical targets.