The Black Hills Defense and Industry Symposium is on in Rapid City this week, bringing major military and manufacturers to the area to discuss major developments.
That includes developments like the stealth bomber of tomorrow, to be housed at Ellsworth.
The tenor of the event centered around the B-21 — a bomber can deliver a payload, potentially nuclear-armed, with a strike range well beyond previous generation stealth aircraft, all while requiring minimal maintenance. That means the craft will be a nuclear-armed daily flier.
Nikki Kodama is the VP of B-21 production with Northrop Grumman.
“Oh, it will be effective," Kodama said. "I’ll let the Air Force talk about the missions and how it will be used in theater, but this is really about partnering to make sure we’re delivering the relevant capabilities they need.”
It’s such a step up over the current B-1 bombers Kodama doesn’t call it a sister plane. It’s a full handoff to the next generation.
"This is all about a platform that really is going to deliver on that ‘peace through strength,’" Kodama said. "When we talk about that sixth-generation technology in aircraft, its about this open architecture that’s going to allow us to enable rapid upgrades in capability. We’re talking anything from new weapons to software updates that will allow us to keep up with that evolving threat.”
For Ellsworth Col. Brian Buschur, that next generation means a new era of American power projection.
"This is a game changer," Buschur said. "This is not B-2 or 2.0. This is an absolute revolutionary change into the sixth-generation domain that is completely dominated by new technologies. It’s exciting to be a part of it.”
Despite concerns orbiting nuclear-capable weapons, Buschur says he’s heard minimal complaints about the project on-base.