“The Air Force Life Cycle Management Center Bombers Directorate is supporting the Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office B-21 Raider acquisition efforts in close coordination with Air Force Global Strike Command,” Air Force spokeswoman Rose Riley told the Dayton Daily News Friday. “Air Force pilots and maintainers have been involved since the program’s inception to truly inform aircraft design and capability requirements.
“Several Air Force Materiel Command organizations will play important roles supporting the acquisition, test, fielding and sustainment of the Raider,” Riley added. “The B-21 represents a successful government-industry partnership.”
In all, more than 500 people assigned to Wright-Patterson are supporting the Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office B-21 Raider acquisition efforts with Air Force Global Strike Command, Riley said.
The base has more than 30,000 military and civilian employees.
The B-21 Raider is the first new American bomber aircraft in more than three decades. A first public unveiling is scheduled for Friday evening at an Air Force facility in Palmdale, Calif.
The Bombers Directorate is part of AFLCMC, and has units at Wright-Patterson and Tinker Air Force Base in Oklahoma.
The directorate oversees the Air Force’s 150+ aircraft bomber fleet (B-1, B-2, B-52 aircraft) and organizes, trains and equips the B-21 program in support of Air Force Global Strike Command. Riley said the directorate does not report directly to the Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office.
There is plenty new about the Air Force’s newest bomber. The B-21 has been shown in preview depictions to have a futuristic flying-wing design.
It is meant to fly thousands of miles behind enemy lines — eventually without a pilot — evading detection by enemy air defenses.
The plane will be one part of the U.S. nuclear deterrent triad, including nuclear submarines and land-based missiles.
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