The United States Air Force
has just approved the second and third basing locations for the Northrop Grumman B-21 Raider
. The B-21 Raider is the United States’ newest strategic bomber and is expected to first replace the Rockwell B-1 Lancer
before eventually replacing the B-2 Spirit bomber
. While not yet in service, the
Raider is now at a low production rate and is expected to enter service at the end of the decade
.
Whiteman and Dyess to be 2nd and 3rd AFB
Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall has announced the second base will be at Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri and the third base will be at Dyess Air Force Base in Texas. Ellsworth Air Force Base in South Dakota was the first and previously selected air force base for the B-21 Raider.
Photo: USAF
The Whiteman Air Force Base wrote, “This decision was made after a thorough evaluation process, which included operational analysis, site surveys, and consideration of environmental, economic, and technical factors. The experience that Whiteman AFB has with the B-2 Spirit stealth bomber and its strategic location, played into the decision to base the B-21 here.“
“We continue to achieve B-21 production milestones; through digital engineering and open architecture design, we are getting an agile strategic deterrent that delivers a decisive response as required.” – Gen. Thomas Bussiere, Air Force Global Strike Command
The Air Force states the B-21 Raider represents a generational leap for the US. While it may look similar to the B-2 Spirit, it boasts decades of advances since that bomber went into production. The B-2 Spirit was (and still is) the world’s first stealth strategic bomber, meaning that the B-21 Raider will be the second after it comes into service.
Photo: Mike Mareen l Shutterstock
The B-21 is designed as a dual nuclear and conventionally capable, stealth, penetrating, long-range strike platform. The Air Force is expected to purchase at least 100 B-21s (the first are now in low-rate production and are executing flight tests). While the Soviet Union/Russia may have been the US Air Force’s main competitor in the past, now
the Chinese are building their own advanced stealth bomber
.
B-21 Raider to eventually replace B-1 & B-2
The Air Force states it will continue to maintain and modernize its fleets of B-1 supersonic variable-sweep wing bombers and B-2 flying wing stealth bombers in service until the B-21 is available in sufficient numbers to take over. The
Air Force has recently awarded a massive $7 billion contract for midlife refits
and modernization of its
remaining fleet of 19 B-2 Spirits (2 have been lost to accidents over the years)
.
Photo: Northrop Grumman
The Air Force intends to keep the B-52 Superfortress in service for years to come to operate alongside the B-21 (for missions like launching hypersonic missiles from afar – out of contested airspace). Ironically, this means the B-52 is destined to outlive its intended successors’ (B-1) intended successor (B-2).