US unveils new B-21 stealth bomber
THE US Air Force gave a first glimpse at its B-21 bomber, shedding a bit of the secrecy surrounding the US$203 bil (RM891.4 bil) programme to build a fleet of 100 stealthy warplanes.
“The B-21 looks imposing,” Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told about 600 invited guests at a Northrop Grumman Corporation plant in Palmdale, California, in an elaborately staged ceremony late in the day to unveil the aircraft.
“But what’s under the frame and the space-age coatings is even more impressive,” he added.
Austin said the plane will have unmatched range and stealthiness so that “even the most sophisticated air-defense systems will struggle to detect a B-21 in the sky.”
The Air Force instructed visitors to turn in their mobile phones and told them they would only be able to see the plane from 75 feet (23 meters) away. Photographers were allowed to take pictures, but only from tightly controlled angles, reflecting the Pentagon’s determination to keep details of the bomber’s technology a secret.
The B-21 will be the successor to the aging B-2 bombers that were built by Northrop in the 1980s. The new plane, designed to carry both nuclear and conventional precision-guided long-range munitions, is an essential part of the Pentagon’s plan to counter China, the US’S primary global challenger.
The bomber, expected to be deployed by the middle of the decade, is being designed to be flown by a pilot or remotely and updated digitally.