The B-21 Raider stealth bomber is unveiled at Northrop Grumman on December 2, 2022, in Palmdale, California, the US. It is the first new American bomber aircraft in more than 30 years. Photo: VCG

In a move experts said on Monday reflects the US' obsession with containing China and risks backfiring, the US recently reportedly started production for the B-21 bomber, which made its first flight only two months ago.

Citing a statement by a Pentagon official last week, the Voice of America (VOA) on Sunday reported that the low-rate production for the B-21 has been approved following its maiden flight on November 10, 2023.

The production of the B-21, together with the Next Generation Air Dominance initiative, shows the US' seriousness in major power competition with China, the VOA quoted an expert as saying.

At least 100 B-21 bombers are scheduled to replace the B-1B and the B-2 bombers and partner up with B-52J bombers in the 2030s, with the first entering service in the mid-2020s, according to US media reports.

Compared with its predecessor, the B-2, the B-21 continues to stress its stealth capability, but lower production and maintenance costs are being sought by means including reducing the size, the payload capacity and the range so it can be mass produced, according to multiple Chinese military experts reached by the Global Times.

With mass numbers, B-21s can be deployed in distributed operations, so they will less likely be wiped out on the ground and have higher chances of launching surprise attacks in guerrilla warfare-like missions, the experts said, noting that another feature of the B-21 is its open structure, meaning that it can supposedly be upgraded as it develops, which is why low-rate production can be started just two months after first flight, the experts said.

However, analysts expressed doubts over the hurried production, as production usually starts only after the demonstrator and prototype phases, which can take years.

Despite the application of new manufacturing technologies, such a rash advance could lead to many unforeseen technical issues, which could end up only slowing down the project, a Chinese military expert who requested anonymity told the Global Times on Monday.

It shows just how obsessed the US is over containing China and maintaining its global military hegemony, the expert said.

China is not interested in an arms race with the US, but will develop its national defense capabilities to defend national security, including developing "shields" such as advanced anti-stealth radar systems, ground-to-air missiles, air superiority fighters and interceptors, as well as "spears" that can target airfields from which hostile aircraft take off, analysts said.

In addition to precision strike cruise and ballistic missiles, China can also reach hostile airfields with its own bombers, including those similar to the B-21, Zhang Xuefeng, a Chinese military expert, told the Global Times.

The Chinese Air Force and the country's aviation industry have on multiple occasions hinted that a stealth bomber, allegedly called the H-20, is in development.

While the B-21 is designed to be cost-friendly, it has also encountered cost problems.

Northrop Grumman, the maker of the B-21, already reported a nearly $1.6 billion pre-tax charge on the B-21 Raider program in the last quarter of 2023, caused by higher-than-expected production costs and macroeconomic disruptions, US media Defense News reported on Friday.

More problems could occur due to the US' haste, observers said.