The former head of the U.S. Air Force Global Strike Command recommended replacing one of the two pilots on the Northrop Grumman B-21 Raider with a weapons system officer, according to a report from Aviation Week.
The online news outlet obtained a copy of the recommendation authored by then-General Thomas Bussiere, who submitted it more than two months ago.
“Unleashing the Raider’s full potential demands a complex blend of skills: airmanship, weaponeering, electromagnetic spectrum operations, sensor management, real-time battle management, and agile replanning in combat,” wrote Bussiere, who announced his retirement on September 30. “For this reason, the B-21 will be crewed by one pilot and one weapon systems officer.”
The document was addressed to the Air Force secretary, chief of staff, and commander of the U.S. Strategic Command.
Aviation Week noted that, while Bussiere’s memo is written in the form of a final decision, Air Force headquarters is still considering the change and has not yet signed off on adding a weapons system officer to the B-21’s crew. It is not clear when or if the Air Force will act on the recommendation.
The B-21 has a crew of two pilots, though only one is needed to fly the aircraft.
The Air Force has been reluctant to rely on a single pilot to operate bomber missions, mainly due to the mentally and physically taxing nature of the flights. This point was illustrated over the summer when a group of B-2s flew a 37-hour mission as part of Operation Midnight Hammer, which targeted nuclear facilities in Iran.
Bussiere argued that a weapons system officer is needed on board the B-21 to properly project U.S. power in enemy airspace. If a weapons system officer is ultimately added to the aircraft’s crew, they would likely be trained to fly it in an emergency situation, Aviation Week reported.
The Air Force is testing a small number of B-21s and expects to have the bomber in service by 2027. The aircraft is expected to complement and then eventually replace the B-1 and B-2.