{"id":1624560,"date":"2022-08-28T08:11:00","date_gmt":"2022-08-28T12:11:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1624560"},"modified":"2022-08-28T08:11:23","modified_gmt":"2022-08-28T12:11:23","slug":"the-b-21-raider-seems-to-be-the-affordable-stealth-bomber","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/the-b-21-raider-seems-to-be-the-affordable-stealth-bomber\/","title":{"rendered":"The B-21 Raider Seems to Be The Affordable Stealth Bomber"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fthe-b-21-raider-seems-to-be-the-affordable-stealth-bomber%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1624560&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p dir=\"ltr\"><strong>The B-21 Raider Seems to be an Affordable Bomber? How Did They Do It?<\/strong> \u2013 An all too common criticism of today\u2019s most advanced military hardware, especially aircraft is the cost. Hardly a week goes by without some news report citing the<a href=\"https:\/\/www.bloomberg.com\/news\/articles\/2022-04-25\/lockheed-s-398-billion-f-35-at-risk-of-costly-fixes-gao-says\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?q=https:\/\/www.bloomberg.com\/news\/articles\/2022-04-25\/lockheed-s-398-billion-f-35-at-risk-of-costly-fixes-gao-says&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1661626977212000&amp;usg=AOvVaw0H0OU1HSh3ESO3b86EsojV\"> high cost of the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II<\/a>, and lawmakers have spent much time debating the fact that it will be the most expensive military platform ever developed \u2013 while often failing to address its advanced capabilities.\n<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">By contrast, there have been far <a href=\"https:\/\/www.19fortyfive.com\/2022\/08\/how-many-b-21-raider-bombers-does-the-air-force-need\/\">fewer concerns<\/a> about the<a href=\"https:\/\/www.northropgrumman.com\/what-we-do\/air\/b-21-raider\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?q=https:\/\/www.northropgrumman.com\/what-we-do\/air\/b-21-raider\/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1661626977212000&amp;usg=AOvVaw12NNcpyZPWF9gkbwvZRFDH\"> Northrop Grumman B-21 Raider<\/a>, the United States Air Force\u2019s now in development long-range, heavy strategic bomber that is set to enter service by the end of the decade \u2013 initially replacing the B-1B Lancer, while operating alongside the B-2 Spirit and B-52. Eventually, the B-21 Raider will supplant those latter two aircraft as well and will<a href=\"https:\/\/www.19fortyfive.com\/2022\/08\/b-21-raider-why-the-u-s-air-force-really-needs-this-stealth-bomber\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?q=https:\/\/www.19fortyfive.com\/2022\/08\/b-21-raider-why-the-u-s-air-force-really-needs-this-stealth-bomber\/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1661626977212000&amp;usg=AOvVaw1omnDpyNyRXqJOmrPpCZmH\"> become the Air Force\u2019s sole bomber<\/a>.\n<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">The Air Force has estimated that the B-21 is<a href=\"https:\/\/www.bloomberg.com\/news\/articles\/2022-06-17\/b-21-bomber-delivers-pentagon-surprise-it-s-under-budget-so-far\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?q=https:\/\/www.bloomberg.com\/news\/articles\/2022-06-17\/b-21-bomber-delivers-pentagon-surprise-it-s-under-budget-so-far&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1661626977212000&amp;usg=AOvVaw1FG6DaVTjfr6DJWWlEfJpZ\"> likely to cost around $203 billion<\/a> to develop, purchase and operate over the next 30 years.<a href=\"https:\/\/news.clearancejobs.com\/2022\/06\/22\/the-b-21-stealth-bomber-makes-history-with-early-success-story\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?q=https:\/\/news.clearancejobs.com\/2022\/06\/22\/the-b-21-stealth-bomber-makes-history-with-early-success-story\/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1661626977212000&amp;usg=AOvVaw2yJ20J0pm5ve6gGNZ_p8a5\"> That is actually under budget<\/a>, but it was also noted that the cost of the aircraft was capped at $550 million each in base year 2010 dollars,<a href=\"https:\/\/www.airforcemag.com\/producing-new-b-21-bomber-will-cost-20-billion-through-2027\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?q=https:\/\/www.airforcemag.com\/producing-new-b-21-bomber-will-cost-20-billion-through-2027\/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1661626977212000&amp;usg=AOvVaw3CcPbushiPyVMKWWS09nVJ\"> or $729.25 million in current dollars<\/a>. That figure was based on an average cost per unit over a production run of about 100 airplanes. Moreover, the early examples of any military aircraft will tend to cost the most \u2013 when the learning curve is the highest, and when the most tweaks to a design will need to be made.\n<\/p>\n<h2 dir=\"ltr\">B-21 Progress is Steady<\/h2>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">A key factor that has helped keep costs down is that the Raider program has steadily progressed. While it can\u2019t be rushed, it<a href=\"https:\/\/www.airforcemag.com\/b-21-raider-first-flight-now-postponed-to-2023\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?q=https:\/\/www.airforcemag.com\/b-21-raider-first-flight-now-postponed-to-2023\/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1661626977212000&amp;usg=AOvVaw1GafKPhZXcW-6-dbWS8aga\"> has faced only minor delays.<\/a> In fact, there are now at least six B-21s in various stages of construction, and the first of the Raiders \u2013 named to honor the members of the<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nationalmuseum.af.mil\/Visit\/Museum-Exhibits\/Fact-Sheets\/Display\/Article\/196211\/doolittle-raid\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?q=https:\/\/www.nationalmuseum.af.mil\/Visit\/Museum-Exhibits\/Fact-Sheets\/Display\/Article\/196211\/doolittle-raid\/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1661626977212000&amp;usg=AOvVaw3wIplMSLmxWLS-udfTK3v_\"> World War II \u201cDoolittle Raiders\u201d<\/a> that conducted the first air attack on Japan \u2013 is now undergoing calibration tests. The aircraft will soon be moved outside Northrop Grumman\u2019s Palmdale, California production plant for engine runs and taxi tests prior to its maiden flight.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">In addition, just as the aircraft is being developed, the service has worked to ensure that its<a href=\"https:\/\/www.19fortyfive.com\/2022\/08\/just-how-close-is-b-21-raider-stealth-bomber-to-flying\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?q=https:\/\/www.19fortyfive.com\/2022\/08\/just-how-close-is-b-21-raider-stealth-bomber-to-flying\/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1661626977212000&amp;usg=AOvVaw2vsK8Mel0nHXGzB-Aur589\"> future home will be ready<\/a>. Multiple support facilities are now being constructed at Ellsworth Air Force Base (AFB), South Dakota.\n<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Republican Congressman Dusty Johnson, representing South Dakota\u2019s at-large congressional district since 2019, praised the efforts to build the bomber and the facilities and stated that the B-21 would take on an essential part of this nation\u2019s deterrence force.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_20108\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\">\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-20108\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">B-2 Bomber. Image Credit: Creative Commons.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">\u201cChina and Russia have the capacity to strike us almost anywhere in the world, almost anytime they want,\u201d Johnson said. \u201cIt is important that we have deterrence. It\u2019s important that we have platforms like the B-21 that can project American force across the globe at a moment\u2019s notice.\u201d\n<\/p>\n<h2 dir=\"ltr\">B-21 Building on the B-2<\/h2>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Though the B-21 is much more than an upgraded B-2 \u2013 even as some experts have suggested the<a href=\"https:\/\/fas.org\/blogs\/security\/2016\/03\/b-21\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?q=https:\/\/fas.org\/blogs\/security\/2016\/03\/b-21\/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1661626977212000&amp;usg=AOvVaw3TxJ7biHL-JqLbJGTa7Hkd\"> new aircraft is essentially a \u201cB-2.1.\u201d<\/a> The naming is actually somewhat of a coincidence and an unfortunate one at that as it has led to misinformation. The \u201c21\u201d actually refers to the \u201c21st\u201d century, but aircraft numbering is always a confusing thing.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Indeed, the B-21 is not a significantly new design, but Northrop Grumman was able to make such progress as they successfully utilized information gained from<a href=\"https:\/\/www.northropgrumman.com\/what-we-do\/air\/b-21-raider\/b-21-faqs\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?q=https:\/\/www.northropgrumman.com\/what-we-do\/air\/b-21-raider\/b-21-faqs\/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1661626977212000&amp;usg=AOvVaw076LYm2hQVatVTwy6mbuuF\"> creating the B-2 Spirit<\/a>. The new bomber is slightly smaller and features some notable design enhancements.\n<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">\u00a0In an interview with<a href=\"https:\/\/breakingdefense.com\/2021\/08\/the-b-21-raider-a-bomber-that-is-both-low-observable-and-easier-to-maintain\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?q=https:\/\/breakingdefense.com\/2021\/08\/the-b-21-raider-a-bomber-that-is-both-low-observable-and-easier-to-maintain\/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1661626977212000&amp;usg=AOvVaw0lkoqD2Jc9cg1o7HrixKwE\"> Breaking Defense last August<\/a>, Steve Sullivan, vice president of the company\u2019s Strike Division explained how Northrop Grumman was able to apply new innovations in supportability to the program.\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_37581\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-37581\" class=\"size-large wp-image-37581\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/6003921-1200x675-1.jpg\" alt=\"B-2 Spirit stealth\" width=\"880\" height=\"495\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/6003921-1200x675-1.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/www.19fortyfive.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/6003921-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/6003921-768x432-1.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/6003921-1024x576-1.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/6003921-600x337-1.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/6003921.jpg 1280w\" \/><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-37581\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">191209-N-HG846-2001 NORFOLK,Va. (Dec. 9, 2019) This poster is designed to communicate the aircraft specifications of the B2 Spirit Stealth Bomber. The B2 bomber was introduced on Jan. 1, 1997, by the Northrop Corporation.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">\u201cThe B-21 Raider, our team has made maintainability an equally important requirement to stealth performance, and the results have been better than we could have hoped,\u201d said Sullivan. \u201cThrough the application of lessons learned on B-2 and other stealth aircraft, and the use of digital engineering techniques, not only do we have a design that has significantly improved over the B-2 from both survivability and aero-performance perspectives, we also now have a coating system that is as revolutionary in its maintainability as the original B-2 systems were in their stealth performance.\u201d\n<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">In other words, the wheel didn\u2019t need to be \u201creinvented.\u201d The B-2 Spirit was a revolutionary leap forward, whereas the B-21 Raider is the next evolutionary step. It promises to be improved and enhanced \u2013 perfecting what was already near perfection. And the good news is that it won\u2019t cost taxpayers as much this time.\n<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><strong>Expert Biography:<\/strong> <em>A Senior Editor for 1945, Peter Suciu is a Michigan-based writer who has <a href=\"https:\/\/news.clearancejobs.com\/author\/peter-suciu\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?q=https:\/\/news.clearancejobs.com\/author\/peter-suciu\/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1661626977212000&amp;usg=AOvVaw2JMQTILzBQpfX5W551QBPA\">contributed<\/a> to more than four dozen magazines, newspapers, and websites with over 3,000 published pieces over a twenty-year career in journalism. He regularly writes about military hardware, firearms history, cybersecurity, and international affairs. Peter is also a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/petersuciu\/?sh=2a2f53789bd3\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?q=https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/petersuciu\/?sh%3D2a2f53789bd3&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1661626977212000&amp;usg=AOvVaw38irNjVvKc16v5XI4Za1XB\">Contributing Writer<\/a> for Forbes. You can follow him on Twitter: <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/petersuciu\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?q=https:\/\/twitter.com\/petersuciu&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1661626977212000&amp;usg=AOvVaw0Yvqnj_Sy8z22A51S8Tu4d\">@PeterSuciu<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The B-21 Raider Seems to be an Affordable Bomber? How Did They Do It? \u2013 An all too common criticism of today\u2019s most advanced military hardware, especially aircraft is the<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1406727,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1624560","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1624560","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1624560"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1624560\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1406727"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1624560"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1624560"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1624560"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}