Stealth aircraft and budget explosion: the United States introduces the B-21 Raider

A mixture of fascination and dread. It’s a bit of the feeling that one can have by closely observing the B-21 Raider that the American army has just presented in the Northrop Grumman factory in Palmdale, California. It will come in particular in addition to the B-52 Stratofortress, currently used by the US Army. A hundred devices should be produced over the next few years at a cost of 700 million euros per unit.

The B-21 Raider will have to hold China at bay

Take a closer look at the B-21 Raider — the world’s first sixth generation aircraft. This changes everything. #DefiningPossible #RiseoftheRaider pic.twitter.com/rZIINucOug

— Northrop Grumman (@northropgrumman) December 3, 2022

In concrete terms, the latter is equipped with next-generation stealth technology that makes it virtually undetectable from enemy radars and air defense systems. Another advantage of this military aircraft: it can fly in stealth mode every day, while current models require very heavy maintenance work. Based on the cloud, it can be updated very quickly, which should help improve its lifespan. On the American side, we also boast of an unprecedented striking precision.

Present for the occasion, the Secretary of Defense, Lloyd J. Austin, was full of praise for this technological gem: “The B-21 Raider is a testament to America’s enduring advantages in ingenuity and innovation. And it’s proof of the department’s long-term commitment to building advanced capabilities that will enhance America’s ability to deter aggression, now and in the future. Today, strengthening and sustaining American deterrence is at the heart of our national defense strategy.”.

On the calendar side, it will be necessary to wait several years before a deployment of the B-21 Raider. A launch is thus mentioned for 2026, but it could well be 2030. The American army does not care, and places itself on the longer term.

1.2 trillion dollars invested in nuclear deterrence

In any case, this is the message conveyed by the Pentagon on Monday in a speech which pointed to the threat of the rise of China. While the latter should have 1500 nuclear warheads by 2035. Lloyd Austin stepped up:

China is the only country that has both the will and, increasingly, the power to reshape its region and the international order according to its authoritarian preferences. So let me be clear: we will not let that happen.

And precisely, according to Fortune, the B-21 Raider fits perfectly into this plan. The United States has thus planned to allocate 1,200 billion dollars until 2046 to revise its nuclear triad. These are the three vectors through which a nuclear weapon can be launched: land, sea, and air.

It will be understood, the stealth bomber will therefore be a formidable effective weapon in this new geopolitical context, as far as the air branch of nuclear deterrence is concerned. In the meantime, the American state continues to invest massively in its army, and the 2023 budget should allocate 847 billion dollars to it.