B-21 production is a go, Pentagon says

[tn1911]

https://www.defenseone.com/defense-s...page-top-story

Northrop Grumman has the greenlight to begin producing the Pentagon’s newest bomber.

“Production of the B-21 ‘Raider’ stealth bomber is moving forward. This past fall, based on the results of ground and flight tests and the team’s mature plans for manufacturing, I gave the go-ahead to begin producing B-21s at a low rate,” William LaPlante, defense undersecretary for acquisition and sustainment, said in a Monday evening statement. “One of the key attributes of this program has been designing for production from the start – and at scale – to provide a credible deterrent to adversaries. If you don’t produce and field to warfighters at scale, the capability doesn’t really matter.”

The start of B-21 production was first reported by Bloomberg.

Nice!

[ThirdWatcher]

I hope we buy a lot of them.

[tn1911]

If we were smart we’d let UK, Japan and Australia buy a squadron each to help offset cost and to give Chinamart and Russia something else to worry about.

[Slater]

Add another decade to work all the bugs out.

[Diamondback]

If we were smart we’d let UK, Japan and Australia buy a squadron each to help offset cost and to give Chinamart and Russia something else to worry about.

Japan would have to strike their "no offensive weapons" clause first. Those sweet new F-35-capable Hyuga minicarriers are so far about as close to crossing that line as they're comfortable getting.

[Coal Dragger]

If we were smart we’d let UK, Japan and Australia buy a squadron each to help offset cost and to give Chinamart and Russia something else to worry about.

We’re not smart.

So it will be another F-22 type situation where our own fleet will be unsustainable within 20 years or so just like the F-22. Same thing happened to the B1 for that matter.

[ABNAK]

https://ifunny.co/picture/feed-me-an...-jpg-V5wVoKOn9

[Slater]

Apparently this program is a money-losing proposition for Northrop:

"Jan 25 (Reuters) - Northrop Grumman swung to a loss in the fourth quarter on Thursday, from a year-earlier profit, as it took a $1.17 billion charge related to the U.S. Air Force's next-generation B-21 stealth bomber.

The B-21 started flight tests during the fourth quarter, after which the U.S. Air Force awarded Northrop a low-rate initial production (LRIP) contract for the bomber on a fixed-price basis.

"We believe it is probable each of the first five LRIP lots will be performed at a loss," Northrop said."


https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/n...115219004.html