The U.S. Air Force has not yet addressed any plans to export the B-21 Raider as the next-generation bomber moves through development, Will Roper, the service’s acquisition chief, told reporters Nov. 12.
“I’m going to keep my head focused on getting to initial operational capability on time and then I’ll let the debate go where it goes,” he said.
Roper acknowledged that the aircraft may be an appealing export. “I’ve heard from our warfighters many times that when we go into an allied fight only the U.S. is bringing bombers. So I can understand why diversifying is something that an operator would want,” he said. “But it’s a nuclear bomber that’s going to have a lot of our best military technology in it, so exportability and being able to secure those technologies is a difficult challenge, as it is for anything that we export.”
Air Force officials have said the B-21 would first fly in 2021, but has not laid out a public schedule for reaching initial operational capability, according to previous reports. The service has said it would need at least 100 of the bombers, but Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David Goldfein in September also indicated support for government-sponsored reports that have said more might be necessary.
The bomber would be armed with the B61-12, the developmental update to the nuclear gravity bomb. It would eventually carry the Long-Range Standoff Weapon cruise missile loaded with the W80-4 warhead to be provided by the Department of Energy’s semiautonomous National Nuclear Security Administration.
