The historic event was captured on video in Palmdale, California, near U.S. Air Force Plant 42, on the early morning of November 10. It shows the B-21 Raider, with its landing gear deployed (typical procedure for the first flights of an aircraft), being escorted by an F-16 chase plane.
B-21 RAIDER FIRST FLIGHT 11-10-23 #RAIDER33 #B21Raider pic.twitter.com/3tEKudqDiw
— Matt Hartman (@ShorealoneFilms) November 10, 2023
#b21 #b21raider #usaf #usa #palmdale #ca #onassignment @reuters pic.twitter.com/2VO5tZAdBW
— David Swanson (@SwansonPhotog) November 10, 2023
The mighty B-21 Raider
The aircraft was unveiled by Northrop Grumman Corporation and the U.S. Air Force (USAF) on December 2, 2022, who described it as the world’s first sixth-generation combat aircraft. The B-21 is the latest addition the U.S. nuclear triad.
Based on design requirements, the B-21 is a long-range, highly survivable stealth bomber capable of carrying a combination of conventional and nuclear munitions. Developed with future modernization in mind to ensure that the aircraft and technology, the B-21 can evolve with the passage of time and changing threats.
The aircraft is designed to operate in tomorrow’s high-end threat environment and will play a critical role in ensuring enduring U.S. air power and power projection capabilities.
«»Fifty years of advances in low-observable technology have gone into this aircraft. Even the most sophisticated air defense systems will struggle to detect a B-21 in the sky.», Lloyd J. Austin III, U.S. Secretary of Defense, said some time ago.
The B-21 Raider will be part of a broader family of systems for conventional long-range strike, including intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, electronic attack, communication and other capabilities. Its sixth-generation capacities include advanced stealth, large computational capability to handle huge information flows, full multi-domain digital connectivity, open architecture systems and its ability to adapt to manned or unmanned operations. In addition, it will be able to employ a wide range of direct and ranged strike munitions, including future hypersonic missiles under development.
