BEIJING: Chinese state media has downplayed the significance of the newly unveiled strategic bomber B-21 Raider of the United States, and termed the world’s first sixth-generation aircraft, as a “propaganda sample”.
Last week, US and defence technology company Northrop Grumman jointly revealed the B-21 Raider stealth bomber in California with much fanfare.
Global Times though dismissing the publicity surrounding the stealth bomber, said, “Weapons that are considered as ‘assassin’s mace’ of major powers are kept strictly confidential, but the marketing and promotion of the B-21 are akin to “internet celebrity.”
Delivering his remarks at the ceremony in California, US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin had said the B-21’s edge will last for decades. Austin explained that the B-21 bomber would not be theatre-based, it won’t need logistical support to hold any target at risk, and the most sophisticated air defence systems would struggle to detect the stealth aircraft.
He added that the B-21 would be the most maintainable bomber ever built, designed to deliver both conventional and nuclear munitions with formidable precision. Global Times said that the instruction of B-21 Raider is meant to gain more budget from the US Congress, by exaggerating the threats of China’s military power.
Regardless of the actual technical level of the B-21, the state media mouthpiece in the editorial said, “it is more like a propaganda sample that the US military-industrial complex needs to secure military budgets and for the military to push the so-called integrated deterrence against China.”
In a statement, American multinational Northrop Grumman says B-21 Raider forms the backbone of the future for US air power. Its sixth-generation capabilities include stealth, information advantage and open architecture.
“The B-21 Raider is a testament to America’s enduring advantages in ingenuity and innovation. And it’s proof of the Department’s long-term commitment to building advanced capabilities that will fortify America’s ability to deter aggression, today and into the future. Now, strengthening and sustaining U.S. deterrence is at the heart of our National Defence Strategy,” said Austin.
“This bomber was built on a foundation of strong, bipartisan support in Congress. And because of that support, we will soon fly this aircraft, test it and then move into production,” he added. (ANI)
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