Bombers to take on fighter jets? US Air Force explores new combat role for B-21 Raider

The US Air Force is reviewing potential roles for bombers, including air-superiority missions. Increasing air-to-air capabilities for bombers is one option under consideration. The B-21 Raider is expected to play a key role in these future missions. Plans also include expanding the fighter fleet and greater reliance on Collaborative Combat Aircraft. The service aims to enhance combat capacity while addressing existing challenges with aging fighter fleets.

The US Air Force is considering a new role for its bombers. That is to use bombers fight enemy aircraft and support air-superiority missions, alongside conventional fighters and unmanned combat aircraft. The possibility is part of a wider review of the service’s future force structure, which includes expanding its fighter fleet, increasing the use of Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) drones and examining additional ways to generate air-combat capacity.

The latest fighter force structure report submitted to Congress identifies developing air-to-air capabilities on bombers as one option under consideration, according to Aviation Week. The B-21 Raider, the US Air Force’s next-generation stealth bomber, could be central to this concept. Its long range, low-observable design, high operating ceiling, advanced sensors and payload capacity could allow it to perform missions beyond conventional bombing.

One possibility is to equip the aircraft with long-range air-to-air missiles, enabling it to engage hostile aircraft. The concept is under consideration. The idea is not new, in 2024, the then-air force chief said the possibility of the B-21 taking on a larger role had not been ruled out during a discussion about the Next Generation Air Dominance programme. Earlier, in 2019, then-Maj Gen Scott Pleus had discussed the possibility of a B-21 with air-to-air capabilities operating as part of a broader family of systems.

The Air Force has since moved ahead with the F-47, its next-generation fighter, but the latest force structure review indicates that bombers could complement rather than replace dedicated combat aircraft. A bomber’s potential contribution could extend beyond carrying missiles. The B-21 could act as an airborne command node, coordinating CCAs and receiving targeting information from drones operating closer to hostile forces.

This could allow uncrewed aircraft to identify threats and pass data to a missile carrying bomber. It could also support suppression and destruction of enemy air defences, which are integral to establishing air superiority. The proposal comes as the Air Force seeks to expand its combat-coded fighter inventory to 1,509 aircraft by 2035 through the acquisition of F-35As, F-15EXs and F-47s.

It is also considering greater reliance on CCAs, a possible new-production F-16 option and a larger future B-21 fleet. The service has separately set a target of at least 500 CCA drones by 2032. These plans will compete for funding, personnel and industrial capacity, while ageing fighter fleets continue to face availability and maintenance challenges.