(Washington, D.C.) The U.S. Air Force might make special new efforts to massively surge-produce new B-21s at an accelerated pace as part of a maneuver to mitigate what service leaders believe is a substantial bomber deficit.
As the first-of-its-kind B-21 stealth bomber prepares for its first few test flights in coming months, many suspect the new stealth platform is quite possibly a paradigm-changing breakthrough platform introducing unprecedented stealth characteristics, computing, sensing and weapons technologies.
Maj. Gen. James Peccia, Air Force Deputy Assistant Secretary for Budget, told reporters according to a Pentagon transcript. confirmed to reporters that two B-21s are now being built in anticipation of a first flight.
The pace of technological change now informing new Russian and Chinese emerging weapons programs could correctly be described as something commanding attention at the Pentagon. With a global technological environment in which fast-arriving AI-enabled sensing, targeting, weaponry and air defenses introduce new threats quickly, some wonder if the B-21 will be able to stay in front of yet-to-exist enemy weapons and air defenses years from now. If the B-21 is the most advanced and superior stealth platform ever to exist, will that still be true in 10 years, as new enemy air defenses continue to arrive? Will B-21 air superiority hold up in the future and withstand the test of time when faced with evolving stealth-detecting enemy air defenses?
B-21 – Any Target Anywhere in the World, At Risk
While of course virtually no specifics are available regarding the actual technological composition of the B-21 for security reasons, Air Force senior weapons developers have for many years said the aircraft will be able to hold any target, anywhere in the world, at risk … anytime. The question is, if this is true at the moment, will it still be true in 10 years. “Yes,” according to Air Force Gen. Timothy Ray, Commander of Air Force Global Strike Command, told The Mitchell Institute for Aerospace studies in a video intv.
The reason for this, Ray said, is because the B-21 is architected in a “modular” style using common technical standards and “open architecture” to quickly integrate any available upgrades. In many cases, software upgrades can introduce new weapons capacity, improve computer processing speed and sensor data analysis. The concept is to of course ensure that the platform is positioned to stay in front of new threats as they emerge, such as longer-range air defenses with more sensitive radar, digital networking and greater ranges of detection frequencies. Russian-built S-500s, for example, are believed to operate at vastly improved ranges with much higher degrees of sensitivity and targeting capacity. Many of these new radars are now meshed together as nodes within an integrated digital web able to hand off and share returns, sensor data and targeting information.
Assessing and refining the technical architecture of the B-21 is now underway at the Air Force Test Center, where developers are working to prepare for the new aircraft’s first official test flight. The first set of preliminary test flights are expected to heavily focus upon the sensing and computing sophistication of B-21 with a mind to how it can improve.
