New Bomber -> B21 Raider Rollout

[MadInNc]

America's Newest Warplane

The US Air Force yesterday evening debuted America's first new nuclear stealth bomber in more than 30 years. The aircraft, known as the B-21 Raider, is part of the Pentagon's efforts to modernize all three pillars of its nuclear triad, consisting of nuclear missile submarines, land-based nuclear missiles, and nuclear-capable aircraft. The B-21 Raider is expected to make its first flight in 2023 and succeeds the B-2 Spirit, first presented in 1988.

The public reveal comes days after the Department of Defense released its annual report on China, saying it poses the most consequential challenge to America's national security. China has more than 400 operational nuclear warheads and is on track to have 1,500 nuclear weapons by 2035.

The Air Force plans to build 100 B-21 Raiders, with six currently in production, that can deploy either nuclear weapons or conventional bombs—with or without a crew. It's unclear how much 100 aircraft will actually cost; estimates suggest about $753M each.

B21 Raider Rollout Livestream - YouTube

[MadInNc]

while it looks like a B2, there are differences

B-21 Raider vs B-2 Spirit | Military Comparison 2022 - YouTube

[DAB]

it'll never see combat.

[Onebadcad]

I call BS on $600M cost, flyaway cost will be over $2+B/per, as this was cost for B-2.
Money would be much better spent on weapons that eliminate exposure to troops, like drones.

[GTOguy]

Hmmmm....When I read B-21, I thought of, well, the old B-21.

[Iron Chef]

Originally Posted by Onebadcad

I call BS on $600M cost, flyaway cost will be over $2+B/per, as this was cost for B-2.
Money would be much better spent on weapons that eliminate exposure to troops, like drones.

That figure is a bit misleading. The B-2's cost increased due to the Department of Defense changing the number of planes ordered from 132 down to 21. Thus making the B2 $1B per copy.

[Yadkin]

Originally Posted by Onebadcad

I call BS on $600M cost, flyaway cost will be over $2+B/per, as this was cost for B-2.
Money would be much better spent on weapons that eliminate exposure to troops, like drones.

That's what stealth does.

[bill_daniels]

Originally Posted by DAB

it'll never see combat.

Brandon may use it on American cities.....he already threatened us with using air power on our people, if you recall.

[GTOguy]

Originally Posted by bill_daniels

Brandon may use it on American cities.....he already threatened us with using air power on our people, if you recall.

Yes....the 50+ percent of us who are 'maga terrorists'.

[Onebadcad]

Originally Posted by Yadkin

That's what stealth does.

I realize that, but since 1997 how many high-impact missions has the B-2 completed?
An upgraded replacement for the B-2 was not needed, as pretty certain its stealth technology is still stealth.
This is an expense of $200B that is not needed.

Also, why 5x more units than previous, were the previous 20 in huge demand, and were there missions not considered due to only having 20 B-2s??

[ZipZap]

Originally Posted by Onebadcad

An upgraded replacement for the B-2 was not needed, as pretty certain its stealth technology is still stealth.

Nope.

Interestingly, this may be the cheapest of the three legs of the Triad. The GBSD (Minuteman follow-on) will exceed 100 billion, and will require an extensive C2 upgrade. They are also upgrading the airborne gravity drop B-61 almost continuously. The Columbia class (Ohio class replacement) could easily top 400 billion. The Trident missiles and W93 warheads that ride on them also require either life extension or replacement programs.

[Onebadcad]

Our silos still work well, allows us to fulfill our role in MAD.