B-21 Raider

The Northrop Grumman B-21 Raider is an American long-range stealth bomber developed for the United States Air Force under the Long Range Strike Bomber (LRS-B) programme to replace the B-1B Lancer and the B-2 Spirit. A flying wing smaller than the B-2, it is designed to carry conventional and nuclear weapons on intercontinental missions. The first aircraft flew on 10 November 2023; two test aircraft were flying from Edwards Air Force Base, California, as of September 2026, and the first operational aircraft is due at Ellsworth Air Force Base, South Dakota, in 2027.

Development

The Air Force began planning the LRS-B in 2011, issued a request for proposals in July 2014 and awarded the development contract to Northrop Grumman in October 2015 over a Boeing–Lockheed Martin team, whose protest the Government Accountability Office rejected in 2016. The aircraft was designated B-21 as the first bomber of the 21st century and named Raider in September 2016 after the Doolittle Raiders. Suppliers include Pratt & Whitney for the engines, BAE Systems, Spirit AeroSystems, Collins Aerospace, GKN Aerospace and Janicki Industries. The critical design review was completed in December 2018. The first test aircraft was unveiled at Air Force Plant 42 in Palmdale, California, on 2 December 2022 and flew from Palmdale to Edwards Air Force Base on 10 November 2023. A low-rate initial production contract followed on 23 January 2024. Three airframes had been built by 2024, one of them a ground-test article; the second flying aircraft made its first flight on 11 September 2025 and joined the test fleet at Edwards the same month. In February 2026 the Air Force and Northrop Grumman agreed to raise annual production capacity by 25 percent, financed by $4.5 billion appropriated under the 2025 reconciliation act, toward an eventual rate of about seven aircraft per year. The programme of record is at least 100 aircraft, and Air Force officials have said the final number is likely to be higher.

Design

The B-21 is a flying wing smaller and lighter than the B-2, with blended, flush air inlets and a two-wheel main landing gear. The cockpit glazing is made without joints or seams to limit radar returns, and a dedicated coatings facility at Palmdale points to new low-observable coatings, although the construction materials remain classified. Northrop Grumman describes the aircraft as the first sixth-generation combat aircraft; the Air Force describes it as a long-range penetrating platform networked with other sensors and shooters, and early reporting also cast it as an intelligence-collection and battle-management node. The avionics use an open-systems architecture intended to accept new sensors and weapons through software rather than structural changes, and sustainment is planned around a cloud-based digital twin. The two Pratt & Whitney non-afterburning turbofans are buried in the wing. Photographs released by the Air Force in April 2026 showed the aircraft being refuelled in flight.

Armament

The single internal weapons bay is reported to hold 20,000 lb (9,100 kg). Planned munitions include the AGM-181 Long Range Stand Off nuclear cruise missile, the JDAM family of guided bombs and the AGM-158B JASSM-ER cruise missile.

Operational History

The B-21 has not entered operational service. Flight testing is run by the B-21 Combined Test Force at Edwards Air Force Base, which combines developmental and operational testing on the same aircraft: the arrival of the second aircraft in September 2025 moved the campaign from flight-performance checks to mission-systems and weapons work, and on 11 June 2026 an operational pilot flew the aircraft alongside a test pilot, which the Air Force described as the earliest such integration in a modern test programme. Ellsworth Air Force Base, selected in 2019 as the first main operating base and home of the formal training unit, is being rebuilt for the type, and the 8th Air Force activated a B-21 Integration Detachment there on 9 September 2026 to manage facilities, training, sustainment and accreditation ahead of the first delivery. The Secretary of the Air Force said in June 2026 that the first aircraft would reach Ellsworth in 2027 and that the test aircraft would eventually be converted into operational ones. Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri, and Dyess Air Force Base, Texas, are the next planned bases; Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma, will handle depot maintenance. On 17 September 2026 the commander of Air Force Global Strike Command said the B-1B and B-2 fleets would have their service lives extended and that their crews would be among the first B-21 pilots. Australia examined the type under AUKUS, but its 2023 Defence Strategic Review did not recommend acquisition.