The Air Force this week made public the first photos of its new sixth-generation strategic bomber, the B-21 Raider, and military planners are divided over how best to use what will be one of America's most powerful warplanes.
The B-21 Raider stealth bomber is unveiled at Northrop Grumman, Dec. 2, 2022, in Palmdale, Calif. The B-21 Raider has taken its first flight, moving the futuristic warplane closer to becoming the nation’s next nuclear weapons stealth bomber. The Raider …The Air Force this week made public the first photos of its new sixth-generation strategic bomber, the B-21 Raider, and military planners are divided over how best to use what will be one of America’s most powerful warplanes.
The authors are Air Force Lt. Col. Shane Praiswater, director of operations for the 31st Test and Evaluation Squadron, B-21 initial cadres at Edwards Air Force Base, California, and retired Air Force Brig. Gen. Paula Thornhill, now with Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies, and the Rand Corp. think tank.
The concept replaces past Air Force goals of creating air dominance and air superiority in combat zones. Unless the debate is resolved, the Air Force may fail to fully utilize the B-21 and result in holes in military planning, the report said. “Notwithstanding this welcome dose of political realism into planning assumptions, a decision not to target China seems to be driven by the recognition that if China uses its substantial missile arsenals to attack U.S. bases in the Indo-Pacific — if not the U.S. mainland — the Air Force will struggle mightily to counter an invasion of Taiwan,” the report said.
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