U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin called B-21 "the first strategic bomber in more than three decades," predicting that "even the most sophisticated air defense systems will struggle to detect the B-21 in the sky."
Each B-21, which can deliver both conventional and nuclear bombs, was projected to cost approximately $550 million each in 2010 dollars, or about $750 million in today's inflation-adjusted dollars.
The Air Force planned to buy at least 100 of the planes and begin to replace B-1 and B-2 bombers.
