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The B-21 Raider has completed structural integrity trials in a significant milestone in its development.
In an aerospace panel in Maryland last month, developer Northrop Grumman also revealed that the aircraft is now flying twice weekly and will soon progress to a fatigue testing campaign.
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Unveiled two years ago, the B-21 Raider is the ‘sequel’ to the UFO-like B-2 Spirit. It is designed to strike silently deep behind enemy lines with its 9,500km range and advanced stealth capabilities.
“We’re really starting to strike up quite a cadence [and] generate two flight test flights in a given week,” said panellist Thomas Jones, Northrop Grumman aeronautics systems sector president.
“When we started this journey, we made a vow that we were going to design this system to be a daily flyer.
“It’s been a phenomenal year of progress and we hope to continue that through the next year.”
The B-21 has already completed its static test used to evaluate the structural integrity of the aircraft and now moves to a fatigue testing campaign.
“We are the free world’s only bomber force. We’re probably not going to see a decreased demand signal from our regional combatant commands on bomber task forces,” Air Force Global Strike Command Commander General Thomas Bussiere said.
“That demand signal, in my opinion, is only going to go up in the years ahead. As we transition from legacy to new, the B-21 fleet will provide great comfort to our allies and should provide great pause to any potential adversary.
“Nobody on the planet can do what we’re doing right now. Nobody on the planet can build an exquisite, technologically-advanced platform like the B-21, and quite frankly, nobody on the planet can hold at risk what we can hold at risk at a time and place of our choosing.”
The B-21 program is preparing to deliver aircraft to Ellsworth Air Force Base (AFB), South Dakota, with Ellsworth AFB expected to be the first B-21 main operating base and location of the formal training unit.
In addition, the United States Air Force has announced the second and third basing locations for the B-21 will be Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri and Dyess Air Force Base in Texas.
“We’re very clear as a team what the priorities are day after day,” Department of the Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office director William Bailey said.
“That collaboration between operators and acquirers has been a key component of this success … that has got to be a consideration [in Great Power Competition].
“Agility and flexibility, they can’t just be buzzwords. These are the kind of things that you need to be able to demonstrate over time. Why? Because it’s going to be changing on you, and we’ve had the benefit of employing a lot of those strategies on this program.”
Manufacturer Northrop Grumman has previously said the world has “never seen technology” like it has developed for the bomber, while US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has claimed it’s so advanced that even the most sophisticated air defence systems wouldn’t be able to detect it.
The Australian federal government surprisingly ruled out buying the B-21 Raider in its much-anticipated Defence Strategic Review.
Instead, the RAAF will invest in next-generation, long-range missiles that will be fired by Australia’s fleet of 72 F-35s and 24 Super Hornets.
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says:Food for thought.
As stated in the story, the Australian Federal Government surprisingly ruled out buying the B-21 Raider in its much-anticipated Defence Strategic Review.
Maybe Australia could buy some of the B-2 aircraft as the USAF transition from legacy to new B-21 Raiders.
Greg Timbs
says:We never replaced the F-111, a longe range strategic strike bomber with significant payload, which derived stealth by flying below the radar. We cut our JSF numbers from almost 100 to 72, not that it is anywhere near as capable of stealthy long range deep strike as F-111’s and B-21’s, with neither the payload nor the range. Given that, and the stated goals announced in the Defence Strategic Review, I’m astounded the B-21 was ruled out so quickly.
For the cost of one AUKUS submarine we could have a squadron of B-21’s, bringing the advantage of numbers, rapid transit to target, long range, stealth, rapid retasking and high operational tempo, providing for survivable broad area long range strike, which seemingly was the intended goal stated in the Defence Strategic Review.
Wes
says:Hear Hear!! Agree with every point.