The bomber B-21 Raider was seen performing aerial refueling behind a KC-135R tanker aircraft for the first time during the ongoing US Air Force tests.
According to the website The War Zone the activity was photographed by Ian Recchioowner of the Instagram profile Look Under Rocks. The images shared by Ian also show an aircraft resembling a private jet passing under the two planes.
Among other things, the pictures give us a good comparison of the size of B-21 in relation to KC-135Rsince previously published images had significant distortions.
As speculated by TWZ, shall B-21 have a wingspan of around 45 meters, taking into account that it is wider than KC-135Rwhich has a wingspan of 39 metres. Still, it is less than B-2which has a wingspan of 52 metres.
It is worth noting that it is possible that B-21 Raider already in the past have been replenished by tankers in the air, but this was the first time such a test activity was caught on camera.
Anyway, the pictures show that Raider continues to make progress, and air refueling will only increase the time it can be in the air for longer tests, which is essential for its planned use in long-range missions.
Photo: Instagram @lookunderocks. This content was created with the help of AI and reviewed by the editors.
