Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
Russian Ministry of Defense: 37 Ukrainian drones destroyed in 4 hours over regions of Russia and the Black Sea.
Sheikh Qassem: Our supporters make up more than half of Lebanon's population, and all of these people are united under the banner of protecting Lebanon, its Resistance, its people, and its integrity.
Sheikh Qassem: There will be no phased handing in of our arms. [The Israelis] must first enact the agreement before we start talking about a defensive strategy.
Sheikh Qassem: Be brave in the face of foreign pressures, and we will be by your side in this stance.
Sheikh Qassem: Stripping us of our arms is like stripping us of our very soul, and this will prompt us to show them our might.
Sheikh Qassem: We will not abandon our arms, for they gave us dignity; we will not abandon our arms, for they protect us against our enemy.
Sheikh Qassem: The US efforts we are seeing are aimed at sabotaging Lebanon and constitute a call for sedition.
Sheikh Qassem: If you truly want to establish sovereignty and work for Lebanon’s interests, then stop the aggression.
Sheikh Qassem: The United States, which is meddling in Lebanon, is not trustworthy but rather poses a danger to it.
Sheikh Qassem: The United States is preventing the weapons that protect the homeland.

US B-21 Bomber Expected $203 Billion Cost into the 2050s

  • By Al Mayadeen net
  • Source: Agencies
  • 18 Nov 2021 00:05
3 Min Read

The US Air Force's next-generation B-21 bomber program will cost taxpayers at least $203 billion to develop, buy, and operate 100 aircraft over 30 years.

  • x
  • B-21 stealth bomber (Source: Northrop Grumman)
    B-21 stealth bomber (Source: Northrop Grumman)

According to recent service estimates, the next-generation B-21 stealth bomber program would cost taxpayers at least $203 billion to develop, purchase, and operate 100 aircraft over the next 30 years.

The figure is the most up-to-date estimate for Northrop Grumman Corporation's highly classified program, which it won in 2015. It's also an attempt by the Air Force to follow through on a promise to help lawmakers avoid 'sticker shock' by disclosing more cost data as the stealth aircraft progresses through development.

According to Bloomberg News, the total cost, in fiscal year 2019 dollars, comprises $25.1 billion for development, $64 billion for production, and $114 billion for maintaining and operating a fleet of 100 bombers over a 30-year period.

These costs are part of a massive "bow wave" of spending facing the US military, and consequently, US taxpayers, as the Pentagon seeks to upgrade the country's land-sea-air nuclear triad. Weapons systems such as new Ford-class aircraft carriers, Columbia-class submarines, and nearly 2,500 F-35 fighter jets for the Air Force, Navy, and Marines are being financed by the US following that aim.

Related News

US B-52 bombers fly over ME countries in clear saber rattling

MiG-31 escorts two US bombers near border, averting airspace breach

The service had previously disclosed B-21 research and manufacturing expenses, but not the program's 30-year operations and support expenditures, which typically account for up to 70% of a program's total life-cycle cost.

The bomber program is still in the engineering and production development stage, according to Air Force acting acquisition chief Darlene Costello, adding that the program "remains on track to the government acquisition program baseline for cost, schedule, and performance."

"You need to take your time and effort during the design phase to try to design for lower sustainment cost," Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall said in an interview last week. Kendall insisted on the need to pay attention to costs to get "a better product out."

Kendall stated in September that five B-21 bombers were in the works. “It’s not a cheap airplane. It’s an important capability that we need and we will budget what we need to sustain the fleet," the Air Force Secretary said.

Because of a past consulting arrangement with Northrop Grumman, Kendall is precluded from having major engagement in the program even as Air Force secretary.

According to the service, the B-21's average procurement price per unit, the most typical metric of how much it costs to manufacture a plane, is within the $550 million per unit objective set in fiscal 2010. The equivalent in 2019 dollars, adjusted for inflation, is nearly $639 million.

  • US Air Force
  • US
  • Northrop Grumman
  • B-21
  • US bomber aircraft

Most Read

Tom Artiom Alexandrovich, executive director of the defense division of the Israeli National Cyber Directorate, undated (Social media)

Israeli-born US prosecutor drops Israeli officer child sex crime

  • Politics
  • 19 Aug 2025
Almost instantly after the Helsinki Accords were signed, organisations sprouted to document purported violations, whose findings were fed to overseas embassies for international amplification. (Al Mayadeen English; Illustrated by Zeinab el-Hajj)

How ‘Human Rights’ became a Western weapon

  • Opinion
  • 23 Aug 2025
Israeli soldiers stand on the top of armoured vehicles parked on an area near the Israeli-Gaza border, as seen from southern Israel, Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2025 (AP)

Palestinian fighters target Israeli soldiers, vehicles in Gaza

  • Politics
  • 21 Aug 2025
Launch of a ballistic missile from Yemen toward the occupied Palestinian territories. (YAF military media)

Yemeni Forces announce firing hypersonic missile at Al-Lydd Airport

  • Politics
  • 22 Aug 2025

Coverage

All
The Ummah's Martyrs

Read Next

All
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a press conference at the Prime minister's office in al-Quds, Occupied Palestine, Sunday, Aug. 10, 2025 (AP)
Politics

Netanyahu deliberately derailing truce with Gaza occupation: Hamas

Irish President Michael Higgins arrives to deliver his speech during a 42nd World Food Day celebration at FAO headquarters in Rome, on Oct. 16, 2023. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
Politics

Irish president renews call for UN military intervention in Gaza

US Ambassador to Turkey and Special Envoy to Syria Tom Barrack speaks during an interview with The Associated Press at the US Embassy in Aukar, northern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, Monday, July 21, 2025 (AP)
Politics

US envoy, Netanyahu discuss restraining attacks on Lebanon, withdrawal

Smoke billows following Israeli airstrikes in multiple areas in Sanaa, Yemen, Sunday, Aug. 24, 2025 (AP)
Politics

Ansar Allah vow sustained Gaza support despite Israeli strikes

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS