At a public unveiling event yesterday, the Pentagon displayed its brand-new stealth nuclear bomber, the B-21 Raider.
The sleek stingray-shaped aircraft resembles a Star Wars spaceship and is said to have cost roughly $750 million to create.
Northrop Grumman developed the B-21 in secrecy during the last decade, and it is the first new US bomber to be unveiled since the Cold War ended.
The United States intends to purchase 100 of the planes. The new fleet would mark a shift in American military manufacture away from anti-terrorism capabilities and toward equipment for a hypothetical battle with a formidable foe such as China or Russia.
Amid growing tensions in US–China relations, the latter is quickly expanding its nuclear arsenal, and the Pentagon expects China will possess 1,500 nuclear warheads by 2035. The public reveal of the new bomber is part of the US effort to keep up with that potential threat.
While the B-21 was built to deliver nuclear and conventional missiles in stealth mode (with or without a pilot), the US plainly hopes that prospective adversaries see the plane’s debut as “a visible and flexible deterrence.”
In other news,
While the crisis in Ukraine continues, Western nations have been debating how to reduce Russia’s oil earnings without creating severe disruptions to energy markets in which Russia plays a significant role.
They believe they have found an innovative solution: starting today, the G-7 (a group of major democracies) and Australia will impose a price restriction on Russian oil of $60 per barrel…continue reading