A senior US official has revealed that Washington would consider providing Australia with high-performance B-21 bomber aircraft as China continues to bolster its military capabilities.
The remark was made by US Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall after meeting Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) official Robert Chipman in Canberra earlier this week.
For many years, the US has been reluctant to equip allies with military equipment and weapons of high strategic significance such as nuclear-powered submarines and strategic bombers.
However, the US Secretary noted that Washington and its allies are concerned about China’s continuing military buildupand behavior in the South China Sea.
“We are in what I consider to be a race for military technological superiority with the Chinese,” Kendall told The Strategist, a website affiliated with the Australian Strategic Policy Institute.
The US Air Force is expected to deploy at least 100 B-21 bombers, with the first units scheduled to become operational in the mid-2020s.
The remark was made by US Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall after meeting Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) official Robert Chipman in Canberra earlier this week.
For many years, the US has been reluctant to equip allies with military equipment and weapons of high strategic significance such as nuclear-powered submarines and strategic bombers.
However, the US Secretary noted that Washington and its allies are concerned about China’s continuing military buildupand behavior in the South China Sea.
“We are in what I consider to be a race for military technological superiority with the Chinese,” Kendall told The Strategist, a website affiliated with the Australian Strategic Policy Institute.
The US Air Force is expected to deploy at least 100 B-21 bombers, with the first units scheduled to become operational in the mid-2020s.