The United States revealed the first images of its new B-21 Raider nuclear stealth bomber

The United States Air Force released for the first time an image of his new bomber nuclear stealth, the B-21 Raider. Washington had announced the purchase of this new style of aircraft on December 2 at the facilities of Northrop Grummanin California, but a clear visual of this sixth generation ship had not been accessed.

The image released this Tuesday was taken on November 28 -two days before the presentation- and shows the bomber from a higher point and another closer, where details can be seen.

First of all, the plan shape of the ship suggests that it is most likely not an agreed swept wing as in the case of the X-47B model, as was initially believed. In turn, although the new tickets appear to have a small frontal section, these are -actually- bigger than was thought.

On the other hand, the plane carries the Northrop Grumman flight test badge stylized on the upper part of the wing rightnear the tip, while in the left is found the air force circle (USAF).

You also see some panels in the escape area of ​​the aircraft but there is still no certainty about this since the combined engine nacelles are not visible in the photograph.

The second image provides a closer shot of the photograph showing the profile in “hawk’s beak”. According to experts, from a 3/4 angle it looks quite similar to a B-2.

To these new specifications are added some more general characteristics of the bombing, which had been identified during its announcement. Among them are his two-wheel main landing gear (MLG) and a light gray color similar to RQ-180.

Meanwhile, the doors of the MLG have jagged edges although they are not trapezoids and the nose gear door is notched and on the right hand side, instead of being attached to the gear leg.

Finally, like the Spirit, it has a new four piece windshield although with the side windows more arched and narrower than those at the front.

The announcement of this bomber is part of the efforts of the Pentagon by modernize the three branches of its nuclear triadincluding nuclear silo-launched ballistic missiles and submarine-launched warheads.

With this project, Washington seeks to improve its arsenal to face the current threats, mainly from Russia and China, which have shown an increase in their combat capacity.

“We needed a new bomber for the 21st century that would allow us to deal with much more complicated threats.such as the threats that we fear to face one day from China or Russia”, the Secretary of the Air Force had declared in this sense, deborah lee jameswhen plans to purchase this aircraft were first reported.

“The B-21 is more survivable and can deal with much more difficult threats,” he remarked.

China is on its way to reach 1,500 nuclear weapons by 2035 Therefore, its hypersonic achievements, cyber warfare and space capabilities, among others, represent “the most important systemic challenge to the national security of the United States and the free and open international system,” the Pentagon commented at the end of the year. in an annual report on the Asian giant.

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