This week, the US Air Force will showcase the most technologically sophisticated aircraft ever developed after spending roughly $203 billion.
On Friday, December 2, the B-21 Raider stealth aircraft will be presented at the Northrop Grumman plant in Palmdale, California.
Using cutting-edge stealth technology, the bomber was meant to conduct long-range bombing and nuclear strikes.
Six bombers are being constructed at Palmdale at around $2 billion per aircraft. They are anticipated to begin flight in 2023.
Air Force to unveil its new B-21 Raider stealth bomber Friday https://t.co/pDadVPGMRf pic.twitter.com/ffgOSuZHJv
— New York Post (@nypost) November 29, 2022
Cutting Edge Tech To Keep America #1
The Air Force and Northrop began building the bomber in 2015 after the defense and aerospace corporation was awarded the contract to design and construct the aircraft.
The sophisticated aircraft was named in honor of the Doolittle Raiders, a squad of World War II B-21 bomber crewmembers noted for their wit and valor.
Representatives from Northrop described the B-21 as innovative and technologically superior.
Dough Young, vice president and director manager of the Northrop sector, remarked that the B-21 would be the most promising military aircraft ever made. He added that it is the result of innovative creativity and cutting-edge skill.
He continued, “The Raider exemplifies the passion and expertise of the tens of thousands of people working every day to create this aircraft.”
The bomber’s specifications have been kept securely under wraps, and almost nothing has been released about the aircraft.
On Dec 2, the world's newest stealth bomber B-21 Raider will be revealed publically for the first time. Raider name is a tribute to the Doolittle Raid, an air attack on Tokyo on 18 April 1942 in retaliation for the 7 December 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor.https://t.co/opk8qrnKI1
— Ramandeep Bajwa (@Ramandeep_Bajwa) November 29, 2022
How Will It Look?
The Air Force has produced artist representations of the aircraft, and Northrup has created a teaser trailer depicting the B-21’s form concealed by a covering.
The aircraft is rumored to feature never-before-seen stealth technologies to elude enemy detection and may fly with or without pilots.
President of Northrop Tom Jones stated that the aircraft was “designed for operations in highly contested locations.”
Friday’s launch will be an invitation-only affair. Jones told Defense One that the development effort involves over 8,000 individuals from forty states.
Brave Men of the Doolittle Raiders
According to him, this is the first glimpse of a tremendous national potential.
The Air Force has referred to the B-21 as a sixth-generation aircraft, which would make it the most sophisticated aircraft in the world.
Aircraft generations represent the various technological periods of flight. The fifth generation, which includes the world’s most sophisticated airplanes up until the B-21, comprises technologies that dominated the 1990s and early 21st century.
The Raider was named after the Doolittle Raiders, a squad of World War II bomber pilots and crew members.
They comprised eighty Air Force men who volunteered to bomb Tokyo on April 18, 1942, barely months after Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941 drew the United States into the war.
Lieutenant Colonel James Doolittle organized and conducted the bombing attack, which considerably bolstered American morale.
Even though the USS Hornet was not designed to carry such a heavy load, her pilots nonetheless managed to launch sixteen B-25 bombers from its flight deck.
Northrop stated on its website that the operation served as a spark for numerous future improvements in U.S. land and maritime air dominance. This daring, inventive, and courageous attitude of the Doolittle Raiders inspired the naming of the B-21 Raider, America’s bomber of the next age.
This article appeared in NewsHouse and has been published here with permission.
