US Air Power plans to purchase not less than 100 B-21 Raider stealth bombers, which include a $700 million price ticket per airplane.
America has unveiled its newest high-tech strategic bomber – the B-21 Raider – which is able to carrying a nuclear payload and may be flown with out a crew on board.
The subsequent-generation stealth bomber was rolled out at arm’s producer Northrop Grumman’s facility in California throughout a flashy ceremony attended by prime US officers on Friday.
The US Air Power plans to purchase not less than 100 of the B-21 plane, which comes with a $700m price ticket per airplane, a Northrop Grumman spokesperson mentioned.
The revealing of the brand new bombers comes at a time of heightened geopolitical tensions between the US, Russia and China amid the struggle in Ukraine and the territorial integrity of Taiwan.
Russian and Chinese language strategic bombers flew a joint eight-hour patrol over the western Pacific on Wednesday in a show of ongoing army cooperation between the 2 nations.
China’s Defence Ministry known as the mission a “routine” effort in bolstering defence ties with Russia.
Moscow and Beijing are additionally at present growing strategic stealth bombers – China’s Xian H-20 and Russia’s nuclear-capable Tupolev PAK DA – that are anticipated to compete with the B-21.
Whereas the B-21 is able to taking to the air with out a pilot, the US Air Power mentioned the plane is “provisioned for the likelihood, however there was no choice to fly with out a crew”.
“The B-21 Raider is the primary strategic bomber in additional than three a long time,” US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin mentioned in a ready assertion at Friday’s occasion.
Austin touted the plane’s vary and superior design.
“No different long-range bomber can match its effectivity,” Austin mentioned.
Unveiled immediately, the B-21 Raider shall be a dual-capable, penetrating-strike stealth bomber able to delivering each typical and nuclear munitions. The B-21 will kind the spine of the longer term Air Power bomber pressure consisting of B-21s and B-52s.(U.S. Air Power picture) pic.twitter.com/X6KSU7sy6U
— U.S. Air Power (@usairforce) December 3, 2022
“Fifty years of advances in low-observable know-how have gone into this plane,” he mentioned.
“Even probably the most subtle air defence methods will wrestle to detect the B-21 within the sky.”
The B-21, which carries an identical “flying wing” form to its predecessor, shall be able to carrying typical and nuclear weapons around the globe utilizing long-range and midair refuelling capabilities.
Northrop Grumman has hailed the brand new planes as “the spine of our future bomber pressure”.
The aerospace and design firm mentioned the long-range bomber’s first flight is anticipated to happen in 2023. Six of the long-range bombers are in varied levels of meeting and testing at its facility in California.