US Air Force Unveils New B-21 Raider Stealth Bomber

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Facts

  • The US Air Force is expected to unveil its new B-21 Raider stealth bomber on Friday. Designed to conduct long-range and nuclear bomb missions, it's described as a sixth-generation plane, meaning it's the most advanced aircraft on Earth.1
  • Northrop Grumman Corp. was awarded the contract to build the plane in 2015. While the exact cost to develop, purchase, and operate the bombers is unclear, 2010 data put the price at $550M each — around $753M today. The Air Force reportedly plans to build 100.2
  • As the US's first new bomber in 30 years, it's expected to be able to disguise itself as another object to confuse adversaries and use new propulsion technologies and 'new manufacturing techniques and materials to ensure [it] will defeat the anti-access, area-denial systems it will face.'3
  • Northrop says it won't have to go through 'block upgrades' — periodically upgrading its parts — because the new 'technology, capabilities and weapons will be seamlessly incorporated' through software upgrades.4
  • The unveiling comes amid rising tensions between the US and China, which reportedly aims to have 1.5k nuclear warheads by 2035.4
  • The plane is named after the WW2 Doolittle Raiders, 80 crewmen led by then-Lt. Col. James Doolittle, which bombed Japan in 1942 in response to Pearl Harbor.4

Sources: 1Daily Mail, 2Associated Press, 3CBS and 4CNN.

Narratives

  • Pro-establishment narrative, as provided by 19FortyFive. The accomplishments of this program are two-fold, as the US faces growing scrutiny over both its budget and security. The B-21 was developed in a timely fashion and within budget, overcoming past failures to do so. Its stealth and long-range capabilities are also needed today as the US faces both hypersonic technologies and advanced mobile and deeply buried targets from its adversaries.
  • Establishment-critical narrative, as provided by New York Times. This unveiling proves that the imbalance between military and non-military spending is alive and well. After decades of unnecessary wars, the Pentagon is now using the Cold War 2.0 trope to trick the nation into spending billions of dollars to fight its new enemies, Russia and China — a policy that completely disregards other major challenges. If the nation continues to hand over a blank check, there will be no signs of peace or military downsizing in sight.