The B-21 Raider was unveiled by the United States on Friday, December 3. It is a cutting-edge stealth bomber that is capable of transporting both nuclear and conventional weaponry. The bomber is built to take off and fly without a crew.
The bomber was unveiled at a carefully orchestrated event held at Northrop Grumman’s factory in Palmdale, California, The bomber is made by Northrop Grumman. Older bombers roared over a crowd that included top US officials as the ceremony began with the playing of the national anthem of the US.
The new bomber was unveiled with dramatic music playing and lights flashing
The new bomber was unveiled as the doors of a hanger holding it slowly opened, with dramatic music playing and lights flashing. The crowd cheered as the material covering it was peeled away to reveal a sleek grey bomber that is expected to cost close to $700 million per plane.
“The B-21 Raider is the first strategic bomber in more than three decades. It is a testament to America’s enduring advantages in ingenuity and innovation,” US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said in remarks at the ceremony.
Although its specifications are being kept under wraps, Austin stressed in his speech that it will provide major improvements over the US fleet’s current bombers.
No other long-range aircraft can equal its effectiveness, he said, and he praised its range and longevity, stating it was “designed to be the most maintainable bomber ever produced.”
The B-21 is equipped with stealth technology
The B-21 is equipped with stealth technology, which reduces a bomber’s signature by both its shape and the materials it is manufactured from, making it more difficult for enemies to identify. This technology is also found in the F-22 and F-35 airplanes.
“Fifty years of advances in low-observable technology have gone into this bomber,” Austin said. “Even the most sophisticated air defense systems will struggle to detect the B-21 in the sky.”
The plane is also built with an “open system architecture,” which allows for the incorporation of “new weapons that haven’t even been invented yet,” he said.