1/ #B21 #B21Raider #avgeek #aviation #B21Reveal (tonight; 8pm). The #USAF's new B-21 Raider long-range stealth bomber aircraft leverages existing technologies, fast computer design, better production, etc., while echoing the now ~30-year-old B-2 Spirit. @kadonkey @Sylvia70485099
2/ Six B-21 Raiders are already in production. 100(?) planned. The B-21 honors Jimmy Doolittle's #WW2 raiders who flew B-25 Mitchell bombers off the Hornet to hit Tokyo in 1942. The new bomber is actually smaller in size and capacity than the B-2 Spirit.
3/ #B21 #military - World War III - The B-21 features won't fly low but at about 60,000 feet, hence the "diamond" silhouette vs the B-2's jagged rear. Unit cost could be $700M (my guess). To operate them for 30 years will cost about $203B for 100 B-21s. dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1…
4/ @NorthropGrumman Corp. won the contract vs @Boeing, etc., in 2015. That six #B21 bombers are already in production is astonishing, but most prototypes need extensive reworking with delays. Expect it to be stealthier/more LO (low observable) and have
5/ ... better C3I/communication/battlefield integration and the ability to fly unmanned. No official photos published; just artist's renditions from Northrop, the USAF or fan art, etc. Schedule: first flight 2023; operational: 2028? #avgeek #aviation #USAF
6/ B-21 Raider #LiveStreaming reveal, Dec. 2 (tonight) at 8:00 pm EST! #USAF and @northropgrumman will reveal it at its Palmdale, California production facilities. TY @NGCNews. Here's the link. . :)
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