B-21 Raider
The B-21 Raider took off in Palmdale, California, where the new US bomber is being tested and developed by contractor Northrop Grumman.
The US Air Force plans to produce 100 B-21s. This is a bomber with a wing shape quite similar to the B-2 Spirit but integrated with advanced materials, propulsion systems and stealth technology to increase survivability in a future conflict.
The new US bomber will be produced in piloted and autonomous versions.
"The B-21 Raider is in the flight testing phase," Defense News quoted US Air Force spokeswoman Ann Stefanek.
This testing phase is key to the campaign to provide long-range, breakthrough and survivable capabilities.
B-21 Raider stealth bomber 'old wine in new bottle' officially launched
The B-21 Raider is America's first new bomber in more than 30 years, and nearly every aspect of the program is shrouded in secrecy.
Both Northrop Grumman and the Air Force are seeking to protect the program from the risk that foreign powers could gain access to the weapons technology and build a similar version, as has happened in other US weapons lines, including the F-35, according to Defense News.
The B-21 is part of the Pentagon's effort to modernize all three legs of the nuclear triangle, which also includes silo-based nuclear ballistic missiles, submarine-launched nuclear missiles and submarine-launched ballistic missiles.
Each B-21 Raider will cost more than $700 million to produce in 2023 dollars, $150 million more than it did in 2010 when the program was launched.
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