Perhaps the most complex development program undertaken by the U.S. Air Force to replace an aging bomber fleet, the B-21 Raider or the Long Range Strike Bomber would define a seemingly impossible task: bolstering the strategic capability against a peer adversary.
The B-21 is at the highest level of stealth and enjoys full multirole capabilities, but the number of operational bombers in service by 2030 may not meet strategic requirements.
The B-21 Raider will eventually fill a replacement role for the Rockwell B-1 Lancer and Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit, and will also find a meaningful complement in Boeing’s B-52 Stratofortress.
Stealth continues to be one of the key areas behind the design of the Raider program, which now includes the combination of long-range capability with flexibility in carrying either conventional or nuclear payloads.
However, the current Air Force plan, though, of acquiring 133 bombers seems to fall short of perception, and is estimated at least around 300 bombers be counted among emerging threats.
Notable challenges exist in the pursuit of this goal. Costs and historical underfunding of the Air Force further complicate matters. The Air Force bomber fleet today is the smallest in its history, and even with optimistic acquisition projections, the number of B-21s in service by 2030 might be too small for a conflict scenario.
A minimum number of bombers is imperative to keep up deterrence, which underscores both quality and quantity.
The first flight for the B-21 Raider was conducted on November 10, 2023, and induction into service is likely to take place in 2027. In the majority of the design and development, information will be kept undercover, and technical details will also remain classified.
However, it’s made known that the B-21 will take to the sky using a flying wing design similar to the B-2, this would offer the aircraft much more lift and virtually less drag.
Another striking aspect about the aircraft is that it will carry an open architecture, helping it achieve quick upgrades, and agile software development, to take up sustainable solutions in the long term.
It will be able to carry out the mission fully unmanned, and it will have forward command over small forces of ‘wingman drones’ under a program called Next Generation Air Dominance. Still, some experts believe that a healthy deterrent requires a bomber fleet of at least 300 planes. The present inventory of 141 B-52s, B-1s, and B-2s is not enough.
Bombers were produced in far greater quantities in previous years when Congress and administrations recognized that they were also needed urgently. Today, as tensions go higher around the world, so does the number of required B-21 Raiders.
The B-21 program is doing well with the leadership of the Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office. Six bombers have already started to be constructed under the program. Though the cost of the entire program is classified, it is estimated that the cost of a B-21 may be as high as $700 million, and the cost of the entire program might go up to $203 billion in 30 years.
Heavy bombers will come from existing bases such as Dyess Air Force Base in Texas, Ellsworth in South Dakota, and Whiteman in Missouri. The B-21 initial operational and training units will be based at Ellsworth.
Muting funding and production hurdles, the strategic value of the B-21 Raider is the guarantee that the United States must have its superiority of air power. Its advanced capabilities and influence over the dynamics of global militaries called for a sufficiently sized fleet of robust bombers.