February 6, 2021
The B-21 Stealth Bomber Could Have a New Role: Dogfighting
Advanced air-to-air capabilities could be a gamechanger for America’s newest stealth bomber.
by David Axe Follow @daxe on Twitter L
Here's What You Need to Remember: If the B-21 does fly in 2021, as planned and ends up including the air-to-air capabilities that have been proposed, it could finally fulfill the A-12’s multi-role promise from nearly 30 years ago.
The U.S. Air Force’s new B-21 Raider stealth bomber could fly as early as 2021. And at least one Air Force general believes the new Northrop Grumman-made bomber could gain air-to-air capabilities in order to help it fight its way to its target.
There is some precedent for a bomber aircraft with a secondary air-to-air mission. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, the U.S. Navy paid General Dynamics and McDonnell Douglas billions of dollars to develop the A-12 Avenger II, a stealthy, carrier-launched medium bomber that was supposed to replace the Navy’s A-6 Intruders.
https://nationalinterest.org/blog/reboot/b-21-stealth-bomber-could-have-new-role-dogfighting-177748
