B-21 Raider Stealth Bomber: It’s Needed and It’s Worth It: The B-21 Raider bomber has awesome specs and characteristics.
The B-21 Raider was unveiled to the public at a ceremony December 2, 2022 in
Palmdale, Calif. Designed to operate in tomorrow’s high-end threat environment, the B-21 will play a critical role in ensuring America’s enduring airpower capability. (U.S. Air Force photo)
It is a stealth marvel. Targets that were previously somewhat difficult to reach such as potential bombing runs deep into East Asia in China and North Korea are now more easily attainable.
Its range is 6,000 miles at a top speed of 600 miles per hour. The airplane’s open architecture means that it can be upgraded more efficiently in the coming decades.
Simply Stated: this is the bomber the U.S. Air Force needs, and as soon as possible, for many clear and obvious reasons.
B-21 Raider: Many Attributes Right Off the Bat
The B-21 is a flying computer. It can process intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance data from all sources in the air and on the ground. The software development and weapons infrastructure achievements on the airplane has been out of this world.
Air intakes are smaller and blended into the top surfaces of the bomber which reduces radar detection.
It is a strategic bomber designed to carry nuclear weapons.
This Doesn’t Come Cheap
But all those goodies have a high price tag. Estimates vary on the cost but expect the U.S. Air Force to pay anywhere from $300 million to $750 million per bomber. Northrop Grumman says it will cost $550 million – still no bargain. The Air Force expects to pay $692 million in 2022 dollars.
The Pentagon seeks to build 100 B-21s. If it ordered more, the unit price could possibly shrink, but not by much.
The B-21 Raider was unveiled to the public at a ceremony December 2, 2022 in..Palmdale, Calif. Designed to operate in tomorrow’s high-end threat environment, the B-21 will play a critical role in ensuring America’s enduring airpower capability. (U.S. Air Force photo)
Aging Bomber Fleet: As in B-52, B-1B and B-2
Is this price worth it?
And are there enough B-21s being produced?
Yes and yes. If the U.S. military can afford the F-35, it can find a way to buy the B-21. The U.S. bomber fleet is aging too much to cancel this program. The B-1, B-2, and B-52 have been flying for decades and the United States needs something new with more modern attributes.
Demonstrate Technology for Future Airplanes
One aspect of the B-21 program is that it is a technology demonstrator for future airplanes. The Next-generation Air Dominance fighter (NGAD) can use lessons learned from the B-21 program to improve its design and engineering challenges. This is especially important when creating new stealth characteristics for the 6th-generation fighter.
Increase the Level of Nuclear Deterrence
The next argument for the B-21 is nuclear deterrence. The stealth bomber will be an essential strategic asset and significant leg of the nuclear triad that badly needs an update.
It will make China and Russia notice that the United States will spare no expense to improve its nuclear capabilities. U.S. adversaries will be forced to spend time, money, and resources building their own next-generation bombers.
In Russia’s case, that will divert funds from the war in Ukraine. In China’s case, it will require Beijing to siphon off money normally directed toward its army and navy.
Modern Job Creator
The B-21 program will also create jobs and economic development for geographic areas that need advanced manufacturing employment. This is important to the U.S. economy and will create a sustainment plan for the next few decades for many subcontractors. Workers will be trained on the latest tools and technologies that will help improve the overall quality of the U.S. defense industrial base. These job skills can be transferred to other aerospace industries, making America the world’s leader in aviation manufacturing.
A B-21 Raider conducts flight tests, which includes ground testing, taxiing, and flying operations, at Edwards Air Force Base, California, where it continues to make progress toward becoming the backbone of the U.S. Air Force bomber fleet. The B-21 will possess the range, access, and payload to penetrate the most highly-contested threat environments and hold any target around the globe at risk. The B-21 program is on track to deliver aircraft in the mid-2020s to Ellsworth Air Force Base, South Dakota, which will be the first B-21 main operating base and location for the B-21 formal training unit. (Courtesy photo)
Production Line Is Ready to Rock for B-21
Another aspect of the B-21 program is that the first models were not prototypes in the traditional sense. The same manufacturing line in Palmdale, California, that produced the first airplane will continue to manufacture follow-on units. A new factory does not have to be built from scratch or re-tooled, and the original technicians, engineers, and designers will not change.
It Could Be a Stealth Drone Someday
The B-21 also has a future option that could allow it to become an unmanned platform. This is another exciting aspect of the aircraft. Pilots are only human, and it is a long flight to China. Making the B-21 into an unmanned aircraft is another feather in the program’s cap.
Upgrades Are Much More Efficient
The B-21 Raider can also be even more modernized over time. It is built for the future. Other bombers, such as the B-52, need new radars, for example, and changing out these systems is a time-consuming and expensive endeavor. The B-21 will be able to update the software on future sensor systems, which is much easier.
The Argument Is Strong for the B-21 Raider Program
There are numerous reasons why the United States should continue to build the B-21 Raider. The airplane will make Russia and China adjust their acquisition programs to shift money and resources to their own next-generation bombers. It is a technology demonstrator for other programs, such as the NGAD. It provides a new means to achieve better nuclear deterrence. The program creates advanced manufacturing jobs and 21st-century skills and tools. The production line already exists. The B-21 could also be an unmanned system someday.
B-2 Bomber. Image Credit: Creative Commons.
These arguments are all convincing. It will take political will to sustain the program with a considerable time, money, and resources investment. However, the B-21 is essential to American national security.
Time will tell if it experiences cost overruns and schedule ships, and we will keep an eye open for those contingencies, but currently, it looks like this program is headed for success.
About the Author: Dr. Brent M. Eastwood
Brent M. Eastwood, PhD, is the author of Don’t Turn Your Back On the World: a Conservative Foreign Policy and Humans, Machines, and Data: Future Trends in Warfare, plus two other books. Brent was the founder and CEO of a tech firm that predicted world events using artificial intelligence. He served as a legislative fellow for U.S. Senator Tim Scott and advised the senator on defense and foreign policy issues. He has taught at American University, George Washington University, and George Mason University. Brent is a former U.S. Army Infantry officer. He can be followed on X @BMEastwood.
bobb
September 13, 2024 at 5:04 pm
The b-21 is THE ultimate air force weapon because it is designed to not only just merely penetrate enemy or adversary airspace But also to linger inside it.
More worryingly, it has been developed to carry weapons like JASSMs, LRSOs and the much feared b61-13 top-rated blunderbuster bomb.
Moreover, it is believed to have come into existence specifically for one purpose-to prosecute naked military blackmail against geopolitical rivals.
But will geopolitical rivals surrender. Unlikely.