B-21 Raider stealth bomber photos revealed: Wingspan, speed, cost and range
The US Air Force released pictures of the new B-21 Raider stealth bomber in-flight that will become the “backbone” of the United States’ bomber fleet.
The B-21 Raider was formally unveiled in December 2022 after which it began flight testing before it can join the US Air Force bomber fleet. On Wednesday, defense officials released the first in-flight photos of the new stealth bomber which is expected to enter service in the mid-2020s.
The US government plans to acquire a minimum of 100 B-21 Raiders which will become “the backbone of the US Air Force bomber fleet.” Andrew Hunter, assistant secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics told the Senate Armed Services Committee earlier this month that flight testing of the aircraft is on track to meet timelines and deliver.
“We are in the flight test program, the flight test program is proceeding well. It is doing what flight test programs are designed to do, which is helping us learn about the unique characteristics of this platform, but in a very, very effective way,” Hunter said.
B-21 Raider stealth bomber photos revealed: Wingspan, speed, cost and range
This aircraft, being built under contract with Northrop Grumman, is the first that is more digital than not according to Hunter’s testimony. It has an open systems architecture which will enable “rapid insertion of mature technologies… allowing the aircraft to remain effective as threats evolve over time,” a press release states.
According to estimates by Aviation Week, the B-21 will have a smaller wingspan of 132 feet than the 172 feet of the B-2. It will also be lighter by around half. “The planform itself is driven by the need to accommodate complex inlets and exhausts and a large weapon bay within the flying-wing profile while staying within a maximum thickness-to-chord ratio compatible with efficient flight above Mach 0.8,” explains weekly aerospace magazine.
The “long-range, highly survivable, penetrating strike stealth bomber,” which will be able to deliver nuclear and conventional weapons, has an average unit procurement cost of $692 million in base year 2022 dollars according to the US Air Force. It is designed for both manned and unmanned operations and can “employ a broad mix of stand-off and direct-attack munitions.”
The B-21 will replace the B-1 and B-2 bombers incrementally overtime. It is being tested at Edwards Air Force Base in California. But when it is rolled out its first main operating base and location of the formal training unit will be Ellsworth Air Force Base, South Dakota.
Other preferred bases for future deployment as additional B-21 Raiders become available are Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri, and Dyess Air Force Base, Texas.