Shock and horror for their new attacker

Among the newly released images, one shows the sixth-generation B-21 Raider stealth bomber in a hangar, another shows it taking off in April 2024, and a third, taken in January, shows it soaring above the clouds.

“The Raider continues to make progress toward becoming the backbone of the U.S. Air Force’s bomber fleet,” Edwards Air Force Base said in a statement.

Even as the advanced bomber makes its maiden flight in November 2023, no official images have been released, likely to keep technical details of the aircraft, which is being developed by defense contractor Northrop Grumman, secret.

Now, as flight tests continue, the US military is releasing photos of the bomber, without revealing technical details.

The B-21 Raider is intended to form the backbone of the U.S. Air Force’s bomber fleet. A look at the improved B-21 reveals that its side profile is reminiscent of the B2-Spirit, with the B-21’s nose being much thinner. The small, trapezoidal cockpit windows and flat windshield are likely to limit pilots’ field of vision, Flugrevue reported.

Its shape and paint make the bomber almost invisible. The test model, code-named AF 0001, has fins on top to direct air to the engines, while the engines are deep in the fuselage, making them difficult to detect by enemy radar.

The B-21 was designed to be a stealth bomber with a special exterior coating that made it difficult to detect. The bomber’s surfaces were designed to be virtually non-reflective to radar, allowing surprise attacks and reconnaissance flights to be launched undetected.

According to Aviation Week estimates, the B-21 bomber will have a wingspan of 40 meters, a length of 16 meters, will be able to carry a weapons load weighing 9,100 kilograms, and will reach a maximum speed of nearly 1,000 kilometers per hour.

The B-21 Raider is designed to operate in a “high-threat environment” and can drop both conventional and nuclear munitions, a U.S. Air Force fact sheet says. The U.S. Air Force plans to enter service with the B-21 in the “mid-2020s,” and at least 100 such bombers are expected to be delivered to the U.S. Air Force.