The Air Force's new nuclear stealth bomber, the B-21 Raider, has taken its first test flight

[Eugene]

Source: Associated Press

The Air Force’s new nuclear stealth bomber, the B-21 Raider, has taken its first test flight

BY TARA COPP
Updated 11:08 AM EST, November 10, 2023

WASHINGTON (AP) — The B-21 Raider took its first test flight on Friday, moving the futuristic warplane closer to becoming the nation’s next nuclear weapons stealth bomber.

The Raider flew in Palmdale, California, where it has been under testing and development by Northrop Grumman.

The Air Force is planning to build 100 of the warplanes, which have a flying wing shape much like their predecessor the B-2 Spirit but will incorporate advanced materials, propulsion and stealth technology to make them more survivable in a future conflict. The plane is planned to be produced in variants with and without pilots.

The B-21 Raider is in flight testing,” Air Force spokeswoman Ann Stefanek said.

-snip-

Read more: https://apnews.com/article/b21-bomber-warplane-stealth-nuclear-first-flight-2004cca92c641981567cfb1a1800c838

[Lochloosa]

1. 3/4 of a Billion dollars each. That would feed a lot of people.

Do we really need 100 of these things?

[Irish_Dem]

2. We live on a planet where so many resources are used to kill each other.

[grandpamike1]

3. Yes

Yes we do.

[DetroitLegalBeagle]

4. I have my doubts we will actually get 100 of them

We were originally supposed to have 130 B2's and that got reduced to 20. Of course cutting the number down inflated their cost to about $2billion each.

That said, the military and government have been planning for an eventual war with a near peer for a while now. We haven't faced off with near peer since the collapse of the Soviets. Unfortunately, military spending will likely rise more in order to prepare.

[eggplant]

5. A lot of that money goes to wages, and so, in a sense, does feed a lot of people.

And secondary businesses, and on and on. We complain when large industry has significant layoffs, and we complain when it doesn't.