New York: The US Air Force created a worldwide sensation when it unveiled the first rough design of its underdevelopment Long Range Strike Bomber, tentatively named 'B-21'.
The futuristic military aircraft will be developed at a cost of $80 billion by Northrop Grumman. However, there are no existing prototypes of the aircraft.
The US Air Force will procure around 100 B-21s at a cost of around $500 million each.
The program has been shrouded in secrecy since its inception for fear of revealing military secrets to potential enemies, and to avoid giving the losing bidders any details before their formal protest was rejected last week.
The all-black plane has a distinctive, zigzagging shape and a super-low profile that will make it hard to spot on radar, and bears more than a passing resemblance to the Air Force's B-2 bomber, which is also made by Northrop Grumman.
