B-21 Raider. The Air Force Global Strike Command has finally revealed the name of the new one Long Range Strike-Bomber of Northrop Grumman. The name was chosen from among those proposed in the past few weeks, by US Air Force personnel on duty and on leave. The commission chaired by Air Force secretary Deborah Lee James and US Air Force chief of staff Mark Welsh opted for the name Raider among ten other proposals arrived in the final phase of the competition.
Last year, the cost communicated by the Air Force for the B-21 program was 33,1 billion. This year the figure has been adjusted to 58,4 billion dollars. The difference in the estimates was attributed to an incorrect initial assessment. In any case not final. In addition to the acquisition, the Pentagon will incur development costs. The latter are covered by military secrecy.
The B-21 designation identifies the LRS-B as the first 21 century bomber. The B-21 Raider was designed from the outset based on a series of requirements that allow the use of pre-existing technology. That's why the B-21 should be very similar to the B-2.
The B-21 is developed by Northrop Grumman and prevailed on the flying wing advanced by the Boeing / Lockheed Martin team. The first Air Force contract provides for the purchase of five lots for a total of 21 aircraft at the cost of 21,4 billion dollars. The Air Force plans to reach the Initial Operational Capacity by the middle of the 2020. Each bomber will cost 564 million dollars for a fleet of 100 next-generation aircraft and a total cost of 58,4 billion dollars.
The supply will not be subject to reductions (acquisition guaranteed by law), so as not to repeat the error B-2, for an order of 132 planes brought only to 21 with exorbitant costs. It is confirmed that the Raider it will be assembled in Palmdale, in the same plants where the B-1 and B-2 (built by Northrop) were built.
The Air Force, which has secreted the development costs, presses for a force of at least 150 bombers ready to fight compared to that provided by the Department of Defense. Congress seems not to want to go beyond the hundred B-21. According to the published specifications (the few that are not classified), the B-21 has been designed to hit any part of the world taking off from American territory.
The payload capacity will be less than the B-2, a gap that will be filled with the massive use of new generation smart weapons. In this way, the offensive capacity of the B-21 will be comparable to that of the B-2.
Some aerodynamic solutions of the B-2 could also be used in the B-21. Three features of the B-21, its complete integration into various military networks, including orbital recognition systems. The systems will be decisive off-board for data collection of targeting and for electronic countermeasures.
The long-range subsonic bomber will be able to perform both conventional and nuclear roles. Reference is also made to the "aircraft unmanned by human operators". To be noted, that for the new Long Range Strike-Bomber "a certain level of artificial intelligence" had been hypothesized several times.
La Initial Operational Capacity for conventional roles it will be declared with the human component on board. With the Full Operational Capability, two years later, the B-21 will be able to carry out deterrent missions. Subsequently, the B-21 will be unmanned. It is confirmed that the human component will be present in the first exemplary 21, which fall within the first batch.
Il Raider will send retired both B-52 and B-1 bombers. The latter will remain in service until 2040.
(images: US Air Force)
