US Air Force is planning to induct 145 B-21 raider to replace B-2 spirit and B-1B bombers in the near future
Frank Kendall the US president Joe Biden's nominee to be the next secretary of the air force in regards to the 145 B-21 figure said- "I think that is a reasonable number, at this point."
The comments were made recently on May 25th at the at the Senate Armed Services Committee.
The B-21 raider is a stealth heavy bomber being designed and developed by Northrop Grumman with intention of replacing its predecessor B-2 spirit and ageing fleet of B-1Bs.
B-21 raider is the part of Long range strike bomber program . In 2016 the bomber was named B-21 signifying the aircraft as the 21st century's first bomber.
The aircraft is expected to be an stealth intercontinental strategic bomber for the US air force with very long range and heavy payload capability.
The bomber will be capable of delivering both conventional and thermonuclear weapons.
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| B-21 Raider |
Like its predecessor B-2 the B-21 raider will also be an flying wing design. But the B-21 raider is considered to be smaller in size and weigh less than the B-2 spirit.
The B-21 is being designed with an open system architecture and will be powered by F-135 engine.
Since the same engine powers the F-35 lighting II the cost of the F-135 engine is set to decrease which will in turn benefit the US air force.
The production of the two units have already began at the United States Air Force Plant 42 near Palmdale, California . It is the same base where the production of B-2 was carried out .
Edwards Air Force Base in California will lead testing and evaluation while the Tinker Air Force Base in Oklahoma will carry out the maintenance and sustainment of the B-21.
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| B-21 Raider design |
A fleet of 145 B-21 bombers will help US in bringing down the project cost significantly and will also give a strong message to its adversaries like China and Russia.
Stealth bombers can easily fly undetected and enter enemy territory and can suppress the enemy air defense systems or missile launch sites or target the supply chain of the opponent.
Once the enemy defenses are down it will make way for other aircrafts for completing their respective missions.
A stealth bomber has many advantages over conventional bombers since suppression of enemy air defense usually known as SEAD is not required all the time. Also a conventional bomber requires intelligence gathering before any mission so that it can find a possible less vulnerable route towards the target site. A strong fleet of 145 B-21 will help US enforce its power over any aggressive move by the opponent especially far away from the US mainland.
Although the radar technology for detecting a stealth aircraft is improving it won't be that simple to locate and identify an aircraft like B-21 right in time to ward off any strike mission. Also it is known that the B-2 spirit has electronic warfare capability of its own which will be definitely enhanced in the up coming B-21 raider. Due to the long range of the bomber there is no need for mid air refueling which might end up giving the secrecy of the entire mission if the tanker is being detected by the enemy radars. In addition to that US has also already demonstrated its stealthy mid air refueling tanker which can come handy if needed.
B-21 Raider mid air refueling
China and Russia are also building their own stealth bomber . The point to be noted is that only US is able to develop and operate a true fifth generation or stealth aircraft. Both Russia and China is not yet capable of producing a true stealth flying design of a fighter jet let alone a stealth bomber which is much larger in proportion to that of a fighter jet.
Many experts believe China and Russia is yet to conceive an proper idea of true next generation technology when it comes to stealth.
So with the induction of B-21 in the near future ; the bomber fleet of the US will prove to be an headache for the adversaries for many decades to come.
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