A delay of at least six months on the date of the first flight of the first U.S. Air Force B-21 stealth bomber.
The Air Force has announced that takeoff will be postponed and will not take place until next year due to supply chain difficulties and a shortage of manpower at manufacturing company Northrop Grumman. For these reasons, several other projects were postponed, such as Boeing’s new T-7A training aircraft.
The B-21 bomber is defined as an intrusive attack aircraft with elusive features, capable of carrying conventional and nuclear weapons. The first bombers of this model will be manned, and for the following years an unmanned evasive bomber is planned.
The Air Force does not provide details about the plane, but EUROASIAN TIMES reports that it will be supersonic, while details about the plane’s shape, evasive levels and its four engines are still kept secret.
Northrop Grumman says the aircraft is an upgrade of the B-2 bomber in terms of survivability and aerial performance as well as the special maintenance required for an evasive aircraft whose painting method is different from regular aircraft.
The Air Force plans to equip the bomber with new cruise missiles for missions that require nuclear weapons. The elusive bomber will also be equipped with several types of missiles and satellite-guided bombs for conventional attacks.