The B-21 Raider has been rumored for quite a while, but the US Air Force said before 2022 ends, there will be answers. Everything needed to know about the long overdue successor of the B-1 Spirit might be revealed soon.
Most Advanced Stealth Bomber of the US Air Force
The building of the nuclear-capable B-21 has been kept secret since Northrop Grumman was given the contract for what was then identified as the Long-Range Strike-Bomber (LRS-B) program started in 2015, reported EurAsian Times.
The Air Force and Congress members have made several public statements in favor of the B-21 program. It is designated after the legendary Doolittle Raiders, United States Army Air Force service members best remembered for their unexpected raid on Japan on April 18, 1942, that compelled the Japanese to recall their combat troops, states Northrop Grumman.
It also boosted morale among Americans and allies around the world. The stealth plane is identified as the B-21, the initial bomber of the twenty-first century. There will still be few public details about costs and timelines, such as whether either has changed substantially over the past seven years.
The airframe, in contrast, is a piercing attack bomber with cloaking characteristics as well as a flying wing design. Because it can carry both conventional and nuclear missiles, the cutting-edge warplane is double trouble. Northrop Grumman is actively developing six covert next-generation airframes in different phases.
B-21 Raider Bomber To Fly Before 2022 Ends
Based on a Congressional Research Commission report, the first B-21 Raider units will be manned, with an unpiloted version deployed some few years after the initial operational capability (IOC) has been reached.
Following the IOC, the nuclear certification process would take nearly two years. The intentional speed of the aircraft hasn't been revealed.
Nevertheless, the B-21's long-range capability, large payload, and budget restrictions imply that it will be subsonic. But the bomber's physical characteristics are speculative at this point; all the components have been top secret.
Its engines are located near the wing root, where the wings and fuselage reach. The Raider has over-wing exhaust systems and angular engine intake vents to conceal the infrared signal from the four engines.
Such an aircraft would most likely be a key strategic bomber that can transport nuclear and conventional munitions.
The US needs to conduct nuclear operations. The Long-Range Stand-Off (LRSO) next-generation cruise missile would be equipped on the B-21 by the Air Force. Armed with the B61 family of nuclear gravity bombs, such as the brand-new B61-12, with the capacity to "dial-a-yield," will be able to be transported.
It is a great addition at a moment when the bomber fleet is beginning to appear anachronistic and obsolete. The B-2 and the B-52, the two main bombers of the USAF, are well past their best in age. B-52 and B-2 could serve as critical enablers for the B-21 stealth bomber, even though Air Force hasn't divulged any proposals for phasing them out.
The B-21 Raider's first flight is supposedly scheduled to occur sometime next year, rather than this year as initially anticipated, per Air Force Technology.
One question is, even with the deployment of the Raider, with the advent of a hypersonic missile, it becomes an expensive anachronism with radars able to detect stealth craft, making it untenable.
Related Article: China's H-20 Next Generation Bomber Might Fly Ahead of the US B-21 After Encountering Delays
