Summary and Key Points: The B-21 Raider, currently in flight testing and expected to be operational by the early 2030s, will become the world's only operational stealth bomber once the B-2 is retired. Designed for both conventional and nuclear missions, the B-21's primary feature is its advanced stealth capability, allowing it to penetrate defended airspace undetected.
-While specifics about its armaments are undisclosed, it is expected to carry modernized B61-12 nuclear bombs, precision-guided munitions like the AGM-158B JASSM-ER, JDAM kits, AARGMs, and potentially hypersonic weapons.
-The B-21 will be highly adaptable, ensuring it remains a key component of the U.S. Air Force.
The B-21 Raider is currently being flight-tested, with hopes that the new stealth bomber will be operational in the early 2030s. The U.S. Air Force has been secretive about the B-21’s development. That is understandable, given the importance of stealth bombing capabilities to U.S. nuclear deterrence, and the fact that no other country on Earth currently has a stealth bomber.
In describing the B-21’s mission, the Air Force wrote vaguely that, “the B-21 Raider will be a dual-capable penetrating strike stealth bomber capable of delivering both conventional and nuclear munitions.” This has been true of all American bomber aircraft since the dawn of the nuclear age.
But it is safe to presume the B-21 will carry advanced weaponry.
The B-21’s defining characteristic will be stealth. In theory, the B-21 will be able to penetrate defended airspace and perform deep-strike missions behind enemy lines without being detected. Once the B-2 is retired, the B-21’s stealth capabilities will make it unique as the world’s only operational stealth bomber.
But the U.S. is not going to take the trouble of designing, producing, and procuring a stealth bomber – at a cost of several hundred million dollars per unit – if the airframe isn’t able to deliver advanced weaponry on hard-to-reach targets.
What sort of weapons will the B-21 carry? Those details have not been disclosed, but the B-21 will likely be equipped “with a range of advanced munitions, including the modernized B61-12 nuclear bomb and precision-guided munitions like the AGM-158B JASSm-ER, JDAM kits, and AARGMs,” as The National Interest has written before.
The B61 nuclear bomb is the most significant prospective addition to the B-21’s payload. Of course, nuclear weapons have only been used in combat twice – two American strikes against Imperial Japan at the conclusion of World War II. That nuclear weapons can now be outfitted on undetectable stealth bombers is deeply concerning to all of America’s adversaries, making the B-21 one of the highest-profile weapons systems in the U.S. inventory. The B-21’s mere presence in a region will be a diplomatic event – much as the B-2’s is today.
The B-21 may also be outfitted with hypersonic weapons. U.S. forces don’t currently have a working hypersonic option, but once the Mach 5-capable weapons come online, they will “enhance end-to-end strike force systems, increasing the potential for deterring future threats,” according to Lockheed Martin. Basically, the hypersonic missile will give adversaries another thing to worry about, one that will be extremely difficult to defend against.
The B-21 will be one of just two bombers in the U.S. Air Force inventory after the B-1 and B-2 are phased out. So expect the Raider to be highly adaptable, capable of being configured with new weapons systems as they are developed.
Harrison Kass is a defense and national security writer with over 1,000 total pieces on issues involving global affairs. An attorney, pilot, guitarist, and minor pro hockey player, Harrison joined the US Air Force as a Pilot Trainee but was medically discharged. Harrison holds a BA from Lake Forest College, a JD from the University of Oregon, and an MA from New York University. Harrison listens to Dokken.
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