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US defense official: "Raider" is the name of the strategic bomber B-21
B-21 Raider. The Air Force Global Strike Command has finally revealed the name of the new Long-Range Strike Bomber Northrop Grumman. The name was chosen from among those proposed in recent weeks, the US Air Force personnel on duty and on leave. The commission headed by Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James and the chief of staff dell'U.S. Air Force Mark Welsh, has opted for the name Raider among other ten proposals reached the final stage of the competition.
Last year, the cost communicated by the Air Force for the B-21 program was 33.1 billion dollars. This year the figure has been retouched to 58.4 billion dollars. The difference in estimates was attributed to an incorrect initial assessment. still not the final figure. In addition to the acquisition, the Pentagon will have to bear the development costs. It is the latter are covered by military secret.
The designation B-21 identifies the LRS-B as the first bomber of the 21st century. The B-21 Raider was designed from the beginning on the basis of a series of requirements that allow the use of pre-existing technology. That is why the B-21 should be very similar to the B-2.
The B-21 is developed by Northrop Grumman and prevailed on the wing advanced from the wheel of the Boeing / Lockheed Martin team. The first Air Force contract provides for the purchase of five lots for a total of 21 aircraft at a cost of 21.4 billion dollars. The Air Force plans to achieve Initial Operational Capacity by mid 2020. Each bomber cost of $ 564 million for a fleet of 100 new generation aircraft and a total expenditure of 58.4 billion dollars.
The supply will not be decurtamenti (acquisition guaranteed by law), so as not to repeat the error B-2, for an order of 132 aircraft carried only 21 with exorbitant costs. It is confirmed that the Raider will be assembled in Palmdale, in the same facilities where were built the B-1 and B-2 (built right by Northrop).
The Air Force, which has declassified the development costs, is pushing for a force of at least 150 bombers ready to fight than the one provided by the Defense Department. Congress seems not to want to go beyond the hundred B-21. According to the specifications branched (the few non-classified), the B-21 was designed to affect any part of the world from taking off American soil.
The payload capacity will be lower than the B-2, gap that will be filled with the massive use of intelligent new generation weapons. In this way, the offensive ability of the B-21 will be comparable to that of the B-2.
Some aerodynamic solutions of the B-2 may also be used in the B-21. Three features of the B-21, its full integration in the various military networks, including orbital reconnaissance systems. Determinants will be the off-board systems to collect targeting data and for electronic countermeasures.
The bomber subsonic long-range will be able to play both roles that conventional nuclear. It also refers to "unmanned aircraft by human operators." It is noted that for the new Long-Range Strike Bomber had repeatedly suggested "a certain level of artificial intelligence."
The Initial Operational Capacity for conventional roles will be declared with the human component on board. With the Full Operational Capacity, two years later, the B-21 can perform deterrence missions. Subsequently, the B-21 will be unmanned. It is confirmed that the human component will be present in the first 21 specimens, which fall in the first batch.
The Raider will send retired both the bombers B-52 and B-1. The latter will remain in service until 2040.
