© ShahBlogger. America Air Drive’s B-21 “Raider”, the long-range stealth bomber that may be armed with nuclear weapons, rolls onto the runway at Northrop Grumman’s web site at Air Drive Plant 42, throughout its first flight, in Palmdale, California, U.S., November 10,
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By Mike Stone and David Swanson
(ShahBlogger) -The U.S. Air Drive’s B-21 “Raider” bomber formed like a flying wing took its first flight on Friday, the following step in rolling out a brand new fleet of long-range nuclear-capable stealth bombers constructed by Northrop Grumman (NYSE:), in keeping with a ShahBlogger witness.
The B-21 left Northrop’s facility on the Air Drive’s Plant 42 in Palmdale, California, at dawn on Friday providing the primary unscripted have a look at the brand new bomber which has been developed underneath strict safety.
The airplane took off at 6:51 a.m., in keeping with a ShahBlogger witness. Air Drive leaders didn’t publicize the B-21’s first flight, however about three dozens aviation lovers and beginner photographers gathered round Plant 42 on Friday hoping to see the bomber take to the skies, in keeping with the ShahBlogger witness.
The B-21, which carries the identical “flying wing” form of its predecessor, the B-2, will be capable to ship each typical and nuclear weapons around the globe utilizing long-range and mid-air refueling capabilities.
The plane are projected to value roughly $550 million every in 2010 {dollars}, or about $750 million in as we speak’s inflation-adjusted {dollars}. Nevertheless, the Air Drive has saved different value data labeled, “which makes validating the proposed value troublesome,” the Congressional Analysis Service mentioned in a 2021 report.
The Air Drive plans to purchase a minimum of 100 of the planes and start to switch B-1 and B-2 bombers. The B-1 prices about $60,000 per hour to function and the B-2 prices about $65,000 per hour, in keeping with Pentagon knowledge.
Ann Stefanek, an Air Drive spokesperson mentioned, “The B-21 Raider is in flight testing. Flight testing is a crucial step within the check marketing campaign managed by the Air Drive Check Middle and 412th Check Wings B-21 Mixed Check Drive.”
Six check plane are being produced now. They’re being constructed on the identical line, utilizing the instruments, processes and technicians that may construct the manufacturing plane.
Northrop beat out a workforce comprised of Boeing (NYSE:) and Lockheed Martin (NYSE:) when it received the 2015 contract to make the bomber. Engine-maker Pratt & Whitney, Collins Aerospace, GKN (LON:) Aerospace, BAE Methods (LON:) and Spirit Aerosystems are among the many greater than 400 suppliers in 40 states.
The B-21 was publicly unveiled in December 2022, however anticipation surrounding its first flight has been constructing for years.
In 2019, one prime Air Drive basic hinted that the bomber may fly as early as December 2021, however the service later pushed that date to mid-2022. In early 2022, the Air Drive additional delayed it till 2023.
The B-21 program is within the Engineering and Manufacturing Growth Section and is on monitor to ship plane to Ellsworth Air Drive Base within the mid-2020s, in keeping with the Air Drive.
Northrop is looking the airplane a sixth era plane given its capacity to hook up with different plane and simply combine future weapons into its techniques structure.
The B-21 additionally options extra sturdy, stealth-enabling low observable floor materials that’s anticipated to require much less upkeep and reduce operations prices and downtime.
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