Northrop Grumman’s B-21 Raider was unveiled in California on Saturday night. The first new US strategic bomber in over 30 years has technology from the frontier to science fiction and must also survive in heavily defended areas.
It was a quintessentially American show in its epic staging with touches of science fiction, national pride and plenty of history. And that should touch even radical pacifists, even if they don’t admit it. On Saturday night, a newly developed strategic bomber for the US Air Force was presented for the first time in three decades at a site belonging to the US company Northrop Grumman in Palmdale (California). The B-21 “Raider” is currently the most modern fighter, a stealth bomber invisible on radar and capable of operating even in “contested airspace” with enemy defenses.
It is also the first 6th generation fighter since counting began with the first jet aircraft in Germany, Great Britain, USA and Russia in the 1940s. For comparison: the widespread American fighter-bomber F-16 “Fighting Falcon” is assigned to Generation 4, the Eurofighter “Typhoon” to Generation 4+ or 4.5. Generation 5 includes the F-35 “Lightning II” from Lockheed Martin (USA) and the Sukhoi Su-35 “Flanker-E” from Russia.