Former Procurement Assistant to the Secretary of the Air Force (Air Force) of the United States, Will Roper, a day before his dismissal, in an interview with Aviation Week & Space Technology magazine, revealed the details of the creation of the B-21 Raider strategic stealth bomber, called the “killer” of Russian anti-aircraft missile systems (ZRS ) S-400 “Triumph”.
“I think most of the people at the Pentagon, who understand the [airplane] program and read the details, were surprised that we were on schedule as we should, and I expect that we will get there when initially predicted, “said the former official, commenting on the postponement of the first flight of the bomber from December 2021 to the summer of 2022.
According to him, in the first flight model of the B-21 Raider there will be “nothing experimental”, and the idea of a production aircraft will be received already by the first flight of a strategic bomber. Moving to full-scale production of the aircraft won't take long, Roper said. The specialist claims that in terms of development methods, the B-21 Raider differs from the fifth-generation F-35 Lightning II fighter and the B-2 Spirit stealth bomber.
In January, Popular Mechanics magazine said the B-21 Raider could be the “coolest” aircraft in the world.
In September 2020, Roper reported that the Pentagon, in secrecy under the Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) program, designed, built and at least once flew an X-plane demonstrator, which means, in particular, an unmanned or manned aerial vehicle. a new generation apparatus, including a sixth generation fighter.
According to open data, the United States Air Force plans to receive at least 100 B-21 Raider units worth $ 80 billion. These strategic bombers should replace the B-1B Lancer and B-2 Spirit.
