PrairiePundit

 Telegraph: After eight years of development, the US Air Force has finally cleared the new Northrop Grumman B-21 Raider stealth bomber for production. The move comes just in time. The bomber is the key component in a stealthy reconnaissance-strike complex that could prove decisive in a major war with China over Taiwan – and that war is looking more and more likely in the wake of Taiwan’s January presidential election. The winner, Lai Ching-te from the incumbent Democratic Progressive Party, is a staunch advocate of Taiwanese autonomy. Which, of course, the Chinese Communist Party considers a provocation. The western Pacific is heating up. The batwing B-21, which the Pentagon revealed in a flashy ceremony back in December 2022, could act as a cooler. But not without a little help. The US Air Force has always considered the radar-evading, subsonic B-21 – a high-tech successor to the 1980s-vintage B-2 stealth bomber – as part of a so-called “family of systems.” The bombers are suppos...

 WarZone: In the wake of successful test flights of the most advanced combat aircraft ever to be built, the Pentagon says Northrop Grumman has been awarded a low-rate initial production contract for the B-21 Raider stealth bomber However, few details are being released about that award, which was first reported on by Bloomberg . “Production of the B-21 ‘Raider’ stealth bomber is moving forward,” Dr. William LaPlante, Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment, said in a statement. “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.” ... The aircraft will replace the B-1 and B-2 bombers currently in operation as stealth bombers.