Brig. Gen. Doug Wickert, the commander of the 412th Test Wing at Edwards AFB in California, has been caught waving around the new B-21 stealth bomber at China like a big stick. “Today is not the day to start World War III, because we have this,” he said, gesturing to a large projection of the bomber, during a briefing earlier this month, reported the Daily Mail. The 412th Test Wing is the unit responsible for carrying the flight test program for the B-21, the nuclear capable bomber that is slated to replace the B-1B and B-2A bombers in the U.S. Air Force.
Wickert further argued the U.S. “cannot afford” to take a “step backward,” before unveiling the new B-21 Raider and issuing his stark warning to Beijing, the Mail reports further. The 412th is therefore currently “accelerating” tests of the B-21 bomber and “delivering integrated capability to the warfighter,’” Wickert revealed. “This is one of the many, many things that you are working on right here that will change [PLA] Chairman Xi Jinping’s calculus about our readiness,” he said, addressing his audience.
