The US unveils the B-21 aircraft, a bomber equipped with precision nuclear weapons

The United States introduced the B-21 Raidera high-tech stealth bomber that can carry nuclear and conventional weapons and is designed to be able to fly without a crew on board.

The ceremony took place at the B-21 manufacturer’s facilities, Northrop Grummanin Palmdale, California, and began with the American national anthem, while the oldest bombers roared over a crowd that included high-ranking US officials.

The doors of a hangar containing the new plane were opened and the cloth covering it was removed: a sleek gray bomber that is estimated to be going to cost almost 700 million a unit.

“The B-21 Raider is the first strategic bomber in more than three decades,” US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said in his remarks at the ceremony.

Many details of the aircraft are being kept under wraps, but it is known that it will offer significant advances over existing bombers in the US fleet.

“No other long-range bomber can match its efficiency” and durability, Austin said, adding that it is “designed to be the most maintainable bomber ever built.”

Like war planes F-22 y F-35, el B-21 It has technology that makes it difficult for radar to detect it, due to its shape and the materials with which it is built.

“Even the most sophisticated air defense systems will have a hard time detecting the B-21 in the sky,” Austin said, “50 years of technological advances have been invested in this aircraft.”

The plane is also built with “open system architecture,” which allows for the addition of “new weapons that have not yet been invented,” he explained.

Amy Nelson, a fellow at the Brookings Institution think-tank, told AFP ahead of the presentation that the B-21 is “designed to evolve.”

“The ‘open architecture’ allows for the future integration of improved software (including for autonomy) so that the aircraft does not become obsolete as quickly,” he explained.

“The B-21 is much sleeker than its predecessors, really modern. Not only is it dual-capable (unlike the B-2), which means it can launch nuclear or conventional missiles, but it can also launch long-range missiles. short range,” Nelson said.

The possibility that the plane could be flown without a crew was not mentioned during the ceremony, although before the presentation the spokeswoman for the United States Air Force, Ann Stefanek, told AFP that the plane is designed “for that possibility”. but that “the decision to fly without a crew” has not yet been made.

According to the spokeswoman, Washington plans to buy 100 devices of this model.