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sheogorath said:

Isn't it meant to slot somewhere between a strategic and tactical bomber?

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Good question! Going by Wikipedia, the B-21 Raider is,

"an American under development for the (USAF)...". Though I am not sure if the term strategic bomber has a defined range and/or payload capacity."

Wikipedia again on strategic bombers states,

"is a medium- to long-range aircraft designed to drop large amounts of onto a distant target for the purposes of debilitating the enemy's capacity to wage war. Unlike , , , and , which are used in operations to attack enemy combatants and military equipment, strategic bombers are designed to fly into enemy territory to destroy strategic targets (e.g., , , , factories, etc.)"

I think based on the above definition that the B-21 would be considered strategic, since it would to attack infrastructure, logistics, military installations, etc as mentioned above. Thought it clearly wouldn't be limited to that role.

A couple more shots of the B-21, some with greater details. Posted by @ryankakiuchan on Twitter.






And this one taken from The Warzone article, linked below:

Also, something worthy of note about this B-21's first flight:

A 6th gen bomber has the ingredient of a good materials science, spoofing and jamming and act as a command center.
China has good materials science but their spoofing and jamming capability not as good?

How about setting up tens of thousands of stratosphere atmosphere drones and ISR balloons surround every single inch of the border so the B21 cannot be penetrated? That's what I would do if they claimed b21 to be that good.

bebops said:

A 6th gen bomber has the ingredient of a good materials science, spoofing and jamming and act as a command center.
China has good materials science but their spoofing and jamming capability not as good?

How about setting up tens of thousands of stratosphere atmosphere drones and ISR balloons surround every single inch of the border so the B21 cannot be penetrated? That's what I would do if they claimed b21 to be that good.

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Where do you have evidence that China's "spoofing and jamming capability not as good".

come on China! its time to show H-20!!!

Michaelsinodef said:

Where do you have evidence that China's "spoofing and jamming capability not as good".

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dod report.
not saying that China don't have that capability but it is lacking behind the US

styx said:

come on China! its time to show H-20!!!

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I don't know how useful a subsonic slow bomber will be in a fight against top level countries. Low frequency radars can already detect stealthy planes. Even if they can't get weapons grade tracking, just discovering a slow plane gives you time to scramble fighter jets to send against such slow planes. So, once they are detected, they have no defense against fighter jets.

So, the rumor that China is prioritizing a super sonic JH-X over the H-20 is probably the better approach to take.

If China has low frequency Anti-Stealth Radars setup all over the country. The only thing B21 will be good for is firing long range cruise missiles from a distance. Cause if they get too close, they will be detected by low frequency radars and fighter jets will be sent to destory them. So, this kind of long range cruise missile can be already be done by H-6 bombers.

Compare to that, a JH-X with supersonic speeds can not only fire those long range cruise missiles, but also fight back with A/A missile against incoming fighters and also flee fast or evade incoming missiles with its supersonic speeds.

So, no. B21 is not a game changer against China and China should not be desperate to counter it with its own similar bomber. It should look at the trajectory of technology and select the right cruise missile platform.

Those exhaust ports are very slim! Also, with those underside photos is it possible to estimate the size of the bombay and maybe even load?

ACuriousPLAFan said:

A couple more shots of the B-21, some with greater details. Posted by @ryankakiuchan on Twitter.

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And this one taken from The Warzone article, linked below:

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Some kind of fins at the front popping up when landing betwwen engines and fuselage ???