Air Force urged to build 200 B-21 bombers

Current plans for U.S. bomber forces are inadequate for winning a future conflict with China and the Air Force needs 200 new B-21 bombers to bolster the strategic bomber shortfall, according to a new report by a think tank that supports the Air Force.

The larger bomber force is needed to attack Chinese inland sanctuaries should a war break out between the U.S. and China over Taiwan or other regional allies, the report by the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies stated.

The U.S. military today lacks the post-Cold War combat aircraft power for conducting Air Force strikes deep inside enemy lines and denying operational sanctuary to enemies like China and its People’s Liberation Army.

The Air Force is “losing its ability to prevent the PLA from generating long-range air and missile attacks from operational sanctuaries within China,” the Mitchell Institute report said.

The shortcoming is eroding the military’s ability to deter Chinese aggression and win a war if deterrence fails.

The Pentagon’s current warfighting strategy is limited to denying the PLA from conducting a rapid military takeover of Taiwan and the strategy will not deter Chinese aggression, the report said.

A balanced warfighting strategy should include airstrikes that erode and then collapse China’s capacity to create high-density threat bastions in the air, on the ground, and at sea over extended ranges from the mainland.

“A strong offense is the best defense, and a war-winning U.S. campaign must include strategic attacks against China’s military leadership, command and control, and long-range combat forces that now threaten the U.S. military’s ability to operate effectively in the Western Pacific,” the report said.

Currently, American military forces are unable to deny inland sanctuaries for Chinese missile and air forces as a result of decades of forces cuts and deferred modernization. The policies have reduced Air Force fleets of long-range, stealth bombers.

To fix the problem, the Mitchell Institute report said the Air Force must rebuild its sanctuary denial forces by building at least 200 B-21 bombers as quickly as possible to deter China and reduce the risk of losing if war breaks out.

“B-21s in sufficient numbers are necessary to seize the operational advantage in a conflict with China,” the report said.

Additionally, the Pentagon should build at least 300 of the new, sixth-generation F-47 jets.

“At that force size, the F-47’s longer range, larger payload, and all-aspect, wideband low observability may provide the Air Force a combat advantage against China’s formidable [integrated air defense systems],” the report said. “F-47s and B-21s in combination will be able to strike any target on China’s mainland to deny sanctuary and eliminate capabilities critical to the PLA’s air and missile forces.”

Until the new B-21 goes into full production, the Air Force should not retire any current B-2 bombers, currently the sole stealth bomber capable of attacking through high-density air defense areas and striking the most difficult mobile, fixed, or hardened and deeply buried targets.

“The Air Force must size and shape its forces to defeat Chinese aggression while simultaneously defending the U.S. homeland and deterring nuclear attacks,” the report said. “It cannot do so at acceptable levels of risk with its current force mix and inventory.”