Air Force B21 - The Pentagon finally took the wraps off its latest defense megaproject on Friday, the B-21 Raider, a next-generation stealth bomber capable of delivering conventional and nuclear weapons around the world. Six are in various stages of assembly at a secret facility near Palmdale, California.
Each new B-21 costs $729.25 million, and the U.S. Air Force expects to buy at least 100 of them. Research and development, procurement and routine operations for most of the two-seat bombers are expected to total $203 billion over 30 years.
Air Force B21
The plan is reportedly budgeted at $25 billion. Adjusted for inflation, that's half the cost of the much more expensive B-2 stealth bomber it was supposed to replace.
Usaf's B 21 Raider Set For 2021 First Flight
At this point, it may seem time to enter another out-of-control defense plan. Over the past three decades, the Pentagon's big-ticket projects, such as the F-35 stealth fighter jet, have been plagued by technical problems that lead to huge costs and delays. In some cases, they failed outright. Similarly, other efforts such as the US Navy's littoral combat ship took so long to develop that they were conceptually obsolete by the time they entered service.
But by most accounts, including those criticized by Congress for earlier flawed programs, the B-21 avoided significant costs and delays due to disciplined program management (although the first flight was actually delayed by six months). And the plan reportedly came in under a $25 billion budget. Adjusted for inflation, that's half the cost of the much more expensive B-2 stealth bomber it was supposed to replace.
This welcome turn of events may be the result of institutional learning from past procurement problems, especially when it's a good idea to try to do too much at once while promising an unrealistically low price. it's not. For example, earlier this year the Air Force considered developing a cheaper unmanned version of the B-21 that would provide more firepower and perform more dangerous missions, but then said the cost savings would be minimal. understood and wisely abandoned the plan. invested in this option.
Instead, contractor Northrop Grumman has spent decades focusing on building an airframe with additional capability for development, the lack of which has increased the cost of modernization and limited the service life of some military aircraft. Open architecture systems that can be cheaply upgraded to support new plug-in and game hardware and weapons have become particularly important. As it uses existing technologies such as the already mass-produced F135 engine for the F-35.
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This cost-effectiveness is enhanced by the fact that its use is directly related to US security interests now and for decades to come – unlike, for example, littoral ships designed to fight in developing countries. The new Stealth Bombers should be especially useful. Protecting US allies in the Eastern Ocean Peace, conflict with China and concerns over its growing regional military assets.
True, the new bomber will not appeal to those who believe the US military should have a much smaller role overseas — although even then, long-range bombers based on US soil could reduce the number of fighter jets stationed overseas. However, if you believe that the US must maintain a credible capability to defend allies across the Pacific, including Japan, the Philippines, Australia, South Korea, and Taiwan, the B-21 should be very useful.
While investing billions in better war machines for hoped-for conflicts may seem unnecessary, feelings of vulnerability can also lead to conflict. Consider Ukraine, which Russian President Vladimir Putin invaded in part because he believed it was militarily weaker.
Convince the Chinese military to understand that if it tries to invade Taiwan, it will not rely on a preemptive missile strike to sufficiently neutralize US air power, and possibly deter it from trying.
If Targeting Taiwan Straits, Us Military's B 21 Will Only Be A Paper Plane: Global Times Editorial
The Raider is able to do this through a combination of unique features: it can fly long distances with a heavy payload for many hours, while at the same time it can slip into airspace protected by enemy air defenses, the Air Force's B-1 and B. 52 bombers cannot.
And compared to the B-2 stealth bomber it replaces, the B-21 uses new radar-absorbing materials that should give it a smaller radar signature, but at a cost.
According to the Air Force, the new sensors and digital systems should allow the B-21 to be less flexible and easily upgradeable to perform additional tasks of the B-2, such as tracking enemy activity and providing information about its movements to the B-21. transfer to -2. serves as a command and control center for friendly forces and ground troops or swarms of armed drones that engage enemy missiles and carry out high-risk missions.Raider even self- can also launch air-to-air missiles for defense. helping friendly combatants.
Penetrates enemy airspace, but can travel only a fraction of the distance of the B-21 and carry much lighter weapons loads. To operate in the western Pacific, they must be based on aircraft carriers or islands relatively close to the East Asian coastline, where they are vulnerable to China's more than 2,200 missiles - many of which can hit moving ships.
The Us Air Force Just Broke Cover On Its First New Bomber In Decades. See Photos Of The New B 21 Raider
On the other hand, the B-21 can strike from the North American continent or from islands as far away as Hawaii or Diego Garcia. This means that even a Pearl Harbor-like first strike against American air bases in East Asia could not deter America's ability to retaliate strongly in the early days of the war. (The Chinese military is taking advantage of long-range stealth bombers in the context of the Pacific and is developing its own Raider-like stealth bomber designed to extend strike range.)
This does not mean that you should write the Ryder program with a blank check. Significant issues remain in the system integration phase, and extensive public scrutiny may reveal other issues. Air Force leadership has made no secret of its preference to eventually purchase more than 145 B-21s; Congress should extend the Raider acquisition only if it satisfactorily completes the target in the mid-2020s.
Nevertheless, the B-21 appears to have a good concept and is being developed with no expense spared and relatively little delay. It appears to be more flexible, upgradeable and cost-effective than the aircraft it replaces. This gives hope not only to this new aircraft, but also to the Pentagon's ability to fix the ship for other future systems.
Sebastian Roblin writes on the technical and historical aspects of international security and conflict for The National Interest, War Is Boring, and others. He tweets @sebastienroblin. An artist's rendering shows a B-21 Raider SSD in a hangar at Ellsworth Air Force Base, one of the future bases to host the new frame. (Courtesy of Northrop Grumman)
The Air Force's B 21 'raider' Stealth Bomber: Simply Unbeatable?
NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. -- The Air Force's next stealth bomber, the B-21 Raider, will be on public display for the first time in early December, Air Force Acquisition Chief Andrew Hunter said Tuesday.
Hunter announced during a roundtable discussion with reporters at the Air Force Association Cyber Conference that the B-21 launch will take place in the first week of December. Other details of the launch are still being finalized, he said.
It will be the first time the Air Force has demonstrated a new bomber since the B-2 Spirit debuted in November 1988 at the 42nd Air Force Base in Palmdale, California. The first flight of the B-2 took place in July 1989.
The new Northrop Grumman bomber has only been seen in concept art so far. Its first flight is expected in 2023, a few months after launch. Northrop said in a statement after Hunter's announcement that the first flight date will be determined by the results of ground tests.
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Six B-21 test aircraft are currently assembled at Northrop Grumman's Palmdale facility, the company said in a statement.
Northrop said in May that the first B-21 completed the first of a series of ground tests at the 42nd plant. This phase included load calibration tests, designed to test the bomber's structural integrity, including stress testing.
The next phases of B-21 ground testing will include testing the bomber's controls and subsystems, and applying coatings and paint, Northrop said in a May announcement.
Before the B-21's first flight from Plant 42 in California to Edwards Air Force Base, Northrop Grumman will conduct low-speed and high-speed engine and taxi tests. Official flight tests of the bomber will take place at Edwards.
America's $200b Program: Usaf Says Its B 21 Stealth Bomber 'roaring' To Fly; First Raider Moved To New Hangar
The Air Force initially hoped in 2019 that the first flight of the B-21 would take place in December 2021, but that schedule has been slipping.
Ellsworth Air Force Base in South Dakota will be the B-21's first major operating base, along with Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri and Dyess Air Force Base in Texas.
Stephen Losey is Defense News' air warfare correspondent. He previously covered leadership and personnel issues for Air Force Times and the Pentagon, and special operations and air warfare for Military.com. He traveled to the Middle East to cover US Air Force operations.
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B 21 Raider Officially Heading To Edwards Air Force Base For Testing
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