New B-21 Raider will command a swarm of drones during missions

By TOC On Nov 19, 2021

WASHINGTON – The promising B-21 bomber, which is currently being built for the US Air Force, will not only be able to “drop bombs on the enemy”, but also become a kind of base for a number of drones and control them during difficult missions. This was stated in an interview with Bloomberg by US Secretary of State Frank Kendall. At least five B-21 bombers are currently in the final stages of assembly. We will probably be able to see the first plane next year, learned BulgarianMilitary.com.

It is noted that the “new features” for the future bomber are partly related to justifying the emergence of a significant number of these aircraft in American aircraft and the significant funding for this program. At the same time, it is argued that the use of the B-21 as a “command post” for UAVs should be “a new way to cause the enemy a headache.”

Interestingly, in this case, the drones will not occupy a “valuable place inside the bomber”, but will be launched from ground bases and will communicate with the bomber in the air.

Thus, the B-21 will act as a “quarterback that controls unmanned systems” and will generally have more capabilities to carry out a combat mission thanks to drones that can perform not only reconnaissance functions, but also attack the enemy with their own weapons.

US to unveil its spy HALE drone RQ-180 ‘White Bat’ soon

Whether there is a spy drone RQ-180 “White Bat” is no longer a relevant question. The current question today is when the United States will present it to the world. This was learned by BulgarianMilitary.com from a video published by the US Air Force Profession of Arms Center of Excellence [PACE].

RQ-180 “White Bat” is a “presumed” spy drone of the US Air Force in the category – drones flying at high altitudes and long-endurance (HALE). So far, sources claim that the RQ-180 “White Bat” has performed at least three “test flights” – in the skies over California and Nevada, and “perhaps” over the Philippines.

The video that PACE publishes and distributes unequivocally shows that the Pentagon is ready to reveal its “white bat” very soon. The video, titled “Heritage Today – ISR And Innovation,” reveals the intelligence and espionage capabilities of the US Air Force over the past decade. At the end of the footage, our well-known drone Global Hawk appears and states unequivocally: “The days of balloons and biplanes have been replaced by white bats.” In the next frame, PACE now directly shows the animated technical drawings of the RQ-180 “White Bat”, referring to its future high-tech capabilities. In reality, PACE is showing a new idea in the development of flying wing spy and reconnaissance drones.

There is no doubt that the “white bat” is the RQ-180 “White Bat”. Over the years, many media outlets have speculated on the physical shape of the spy drone, and the publication of the already recognizable shape in the U.S. military video confirms that many of them were right, including the prestigious Aviation Week.

It is this publication that says that the US Air Force has personnel who are preparing to become the future operators of the spy drone. This is the 74th reconnaissance squadron of AFB Beale, California, according to Aviation Week.

At the moment, we can’t predict when the United States will openly comment on the “white bat,” but our military sources at the Pentagon said it could happen in parallel with the public debate over the B-21 Raider stealth bomber, as the two programs are linked.

There is another possibility. The RQ-180 “White Bat” project is more advanced than we think. This will not be a precedent in military affairs and production, especially since we learned about Global Hawk years ago at a time when he already had several military missions behind him. The Russians acted in the same way with the Su-57 Felon, learning of its working prototypes only after satellite images showed their presence at the Kmeininm airbase in Syria.

However, there is one fact and that is the information. The RQ-180 “White Bat” is gradually being revealed to the world, even as the Pentagon tries to anticipate the speed at which it is happening. But based on the supposed long-term and high capabilities of the RQ-180 “White Bat” at some point they may be necessary for the US military and “forced” to reveal to the world the “white bat”. Only time will tell what and when exactly will happen, but it is a fact that we live in a time when it is already happening.

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