The United States on Friday unveiled its latest stealth bomber aircraft, the B-21 Raider, in Palmdale, California. Northrop Grumman, an American multinational aerospace and defense technology company, constructed the bomber which was named after the “courageous spirit” of airmen, to honor them, who initiated the surprise World War II Doolittle Raid.
B-21 Raider “undetectable” futuristic aircraft
The B-21 Raider aircraft is the sixth in the generation which will help the US Air Force to “penetrate the toughest defenses for precision strikes anywhere in the world,” states the press release by Northrop Grumman. The release further said, “six bombers are currently in various stages of final assembly in California.”
The B-21 Raider is a futuristic reconnaissance plane that can hold nuclear and conventional weapons. The aircraft is crafted to operate without a person on board.
The bomber was unveiled in a ceremony that started with US national anthem while the older bombers flew over a crowd among which were top US officials.
The bomber, which could cost nearly $700 million per plane, will provide significant advances over present bombers in the American fleet.
The B-21 technology, which reduces an airplane’s signature throughout its design and the materials it is constructed from, making it hard for enemies to detect it, is similar to the F-22 and F-35 warplanes.
Speaking at the ceremony, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said, “The B-21 Raider is the first strategic bomber in more than three decades. It is a testament to America’s enduring advantages in ingenuity and innovation.”
He praised its range saying that “no other long-range bomber can match its efficiency” and its durability, mentioning that it is “designed to be the most maintainable bomber ever built.”
The defense secretary added, “Fifty years of advances in low-observable technology have gone into this aircraft. Even the most sophisticated air defense systems will struggle to detect the B-21 in the sky.”
The debut of the new bomber coincides with an uptick in hostilities between the US and China and Russia. Only a few days ago, the Pentagon published its yearly assessment on China, noting that it had doubled the number of nuclear warheads it possessed in a lot less time than the US had anticipated.
A senior defense official told CNN that according to the assessment, China might have 1,500 nuclear warheads by 2035, an “accelerated increase” of its stockpile.
It was with that competition in mind that the B-21 was created.
