America’s new stealth B-21 Raider takes next step with second bomber’s first flight
The Air Force said on Thursday that a second B-21 Raider bomber flew in California for the first time-a milestone officials, America’s first new long-range bombardment aircraft will accelerate for more than thirty years, he said.
“With the arrival of the Second B-21 Raider, our flight test campaign is gaining an important momentum.” He said. He added that the service can now begin to integrate guns and task systems into the bombing plane. So far, the flight test has been mainly limited to performance controls.
Built by Northrop Grumman, the B-21 is the world’s first sixth generation aircraft and can carry both nuclear and traditional weapons. The secret design aims to penetrate deeply into the enemy region and to operate against increasingly increasing fundamental defenses by China, Russia and other competitors.
The new bombardment aircraft follows the descendants of the Cold War Period B-52 Stratofortress, Supersonic B-1 Lancer and Radar-Obling B-2.
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Unlike B-2, which costs approximately $ 2 billion per plane and is ultimately limited to a fleet of 21, B-22 is designed with a lower price tag of approximately 800 million dollars per aircraft and open system architecture to allow easier technological upgrades.
Currently, the B-2, in June, flies the war tasks during US strikes in the US nuclear areas.
Air Force Leaders will work next to the 76 modernized B-52J Stratofortress fleet that the service plans to purchase at least 100 B-21, which is good for the future. Together, two aircraft will form the backbone of the Bombarding force of the United States and provide both long -range strikes and nuclear deterrence capabilities as part of the US nuclear triad.
The program is closely monitored in Washington after exposure to significant delays and cost-effectives of past aircraft programs such as F-35 fighter and KC-46 tankers.
Authorities, the first operational capability program, including the most classified B-21 hid, but the Air Force bombardment plane expects to enter the service in the early 2030s, he said.
Air Force Chief of General Staff Gen. David Allvin said that the addition of a second test aircraft was a positive step towards this goal. “Adding a second B-21 to the Flight Test Program, accelerating the path of Fielding.” He said. “We have more assets in the test environment, we show the urgency that we struggle with modernization by bringing this feature faster to our warriors.”
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The B-21 program, which started under what is known as the long-range strike bombardment initiative in the early 2010s, was described by Pentagon leaders to maintain the US military advantage.
Authorities said that the range and confidentiality of the aircraft will offer the commanders more options in Indo-Pacific, where long distances and growing Chinese missile threats challenge traditional advanced bases.
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Northrop Grumman supports thousands of jobs and leads the program with a country -wide supplier network. In December 2022, the company introduced the plane to the public for the first time in Palmdale, California, the facility, but most of its abilities were quite classified. Only a handful of images that show a stylish flying wing design that reminded B-2, but built with updated materials and engineering, were released.
As the tests are now expanding, the Pentagon hopes to avoid delays and deliver the bombing plane on time and on the budget. Authorities emphasize that the B-21 will provide a critical advantage to the United States both in traditional strike duties and nuclear deterrence for decades.
