Science & Technology

US Air Force reveals new photos of its B-21 nuclear stealth bomber

By T.K. Randall
May 27, 2024 ·  2 comments

Official US Air Force photograph of the B-21 in flight. Image Credit: US Air Force Designed to be a long-range strike stealth bomber that will replace the older B-1 and B-2 models, the B-21 is the country's answer to China's recent efforts to build up and modernize its military.

The US Air Force will purchase around 100 of the new bombers at a price of $700 million each.

Unveiled back in 2022, the B-21 has remained mostly under wraps ever since, but now, at last, official photographs showing this impressive next-generation aircraft in flight have been published.

The images reveal some clear differences from previous US stealth bombers but neglect to show the aircraft's exhaust ports - no doubt to avoid giving away too much about their design."The B-21 will join the nuclear triad as a visible and flexible nuclear deterrent; supporting national security objectives and assuring our nation's allies and partners," a Northrop Grumman spokesperson said back in 2022, adding that it will be "capable of penetrating the toughest defenses to deliver precision strikes anywhere in the world" and "is the future of deterrence".

As things stand, the B-21 is expected to enter service by 2027 and will go on to replace both the Rockwell B-1 Lancer and Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit over the next decade or so.

"As we look to the threats posed by our pacing challenge; we must continue to rapidly modernize," Air Force Chief of Staff General C Q Brown Jr. said back during the unveiling in 2022.

"The B-21 Raider will provide formidable combat capability across a range of operations in highly contested environments of the future."

First aerial photo of B-21 Raider. I think I might have seen this UFO somewhere. 🤷 pic.twitter.com/H4grGfBMmO

- Vicky Verma (@Unexplained2020) May 25, 2024

Source: Popular Science | Comments (2)

Tags: B-21, Nuclear