US Military Debuts Long-Awaited New Stealth Bomber

For better or worse, a great deal of the technological advancements in United States history has been tied directly to its military. This week, the Pentagon offered a glimpse into the capabilities of its latest high-tech weapon: the B-21 Raider.

What it is

The B-21 Raider is America’s newest and most impressive nuclear stealth bomber, which has been in development for several years. This is the first such aircraft to be released by the U.S. military in more than three decades and is poised to give America an advantage in a potential clash with enemy nations.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin praised the advancement during a sneak peek this week, noting that the plane was necessary to face “threats that we fear we would one day face from China, Russia.”

China is on pace to amass a nuclear arsenal of more than 1,500 weapons by 2035 and has demonstrated leaps forward in its hypersonic, cyber, and space warfare capabilities. Such threats have put pressure on the U.S. military to thoroughly modernize its weaponry, including stealth bombers.

What it can do

As you might imagine, the Pentagon isn’t very forthcoming about all of the bells and whistles included in this highly specialized aircraft. Nevertheless, officials have provided some broad details.

During the development process, then-Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James explained: “The B-21 is more survivable and can take on these much more difficult threats.”

As for how it stacks up against the plane it will replace, the CEO of Northrop Grumman — the Raider’s manufacturer — said that it is “extremely advanced compared to the B-2, because the technology has evolved so much in terms of the computing capability that we can now embed in the software of the B-21.”

Chris Agee December 3rd, 2022

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