China Doesn’t Underestimate The B-21 Either. China knows the US had traditionally led in stealth technology, and the B-21 is likely to outclass the H-20 and even Russia’s PAK-DA stealth bomber in certain respects. Beijing holds considerable consternation over the B-21, and Chinese military planners are wary of a massive propaganda win for Tinker AFB, Oklahoma, will coordinate maintenance and sustainment of the B-21 and Edwards AFB, California, will lead testing and evaluation of the aircraft," she said. Six test B-21s are being produced and the Air Force plans to purchase at least 100 airframes to replace the B-1 Lancer supersonic bomber and B-2 Spirit stealth bomber. Northrop draws on aspects of B-2 bomber and X-47B UCAV. The B-21’s low-risk design in part stems from the program’s origins. Before 2009, the Air Force was working to a requirement known as The Air Force planned to buy at least 100 of the planes and begin to replace B-1 and B-2 bombers. Northrop Grumman unveils the B-21 Raider, a new high-tech stealth bomber developed for the U.S The Northrop B-2 Spirit, also known as the "Stealth Bomber," was out on display during an expo ahead of the B-21 Unveiling ceremony on Friday at Air Force Plant 42, Site 4 Northrop Grumman in The US military has unveiled the B-21 Raider, its first new stealth bomber in 30 years. Northrop Grumman, which developed the aircraft, first showed us a silhouette of the plane covered by a Honestly, possibly ever longer than that. RQ1 Predator drones have been in service for 27 years and the B2 first fly in 1989 (although in a nod to your observation they were introduced that about 10 years later). As this bomber seems to be a combination of drone and stealth bomber, it's possible they started working on it in the early 1990s. With the B-21 Raider in a much more advanced state of completion, here is an analysis of the details exposed by the newest photos of the sixth generation stealth bomber. On Sept. 12, 2023, three […] Un-Asked, Un-Answered. In 2014, the U.S. Air Force began development of the B-21 Raider, its next generation stealth bomber. However, despite having socialized a set of requirements, identified a vendor, and set a per-unit price that will inevitably skyrocket, any serious discussion of whether a need for this platform actually exists has taken The B-21 Raider will be the backbone of the bomber fleet and will incrementally replace the B-1 and B-2 bombers as sufficient numbers of B-21s are available. The state-of-the-art bomber will provide survivable, long-range, penetrating strike capabilities to deter aggression and protect the United States, allies, and partners. 2C3Xj.