Air Force Plans 100 New B-21 Stealth Bombers.  Why They Might Need 200 or More

By Kris Osborn, President, Center for Military Modernization

(Washington DC) The Air Force officially plans for roughly 100 new stealthy B-21 Raider bombers, yet for many years now, service leaders, experts, and observers have called for more than 200 of the new bombers.

Could the Air Force be in a situation where they don’t get enough B-21 bombers?

What could that mean for the state of great power competition with Russia and China?

“The B-21 is multi-functional, as it can handle anything from gathering intel to battle management to integrating with our allies and partners that will work seamlessly across domains and theaters and across the joint force,” Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said last December at the unveiling of the new B-21.. 

B-21: Too Few for the Air Force?

Many senior Air Force officials have for years maintained that the service’s bomber fleet has been far too small and old to meet the demands of today’s threat environment.

The B-1B and B-2 bombers are already several decades old, and the B-2 bomber effort was truncated early at only 20 aircraft, so there is much evidence to suggest that indeed the Air Force has been suffering a bomber “deficit” for many years.

The B-21 will be the first new bomber to arrive since the end of the Cold War, and although both the B-2 and B1-B continue to receive massive upgrades, there is still a pressing need for a new platform.