B-21 Raider Completes Conventional Weapons Release Test, US Air Force Says

The US Air Force said on Friday, November 13, 2026, that a B-21 Raider has released a conventional weapon in a test flown out of Edwards Air Force Base. In its release, the service said the Department of the Air Force "successfully conducted a conventional weapons release test" that validated both the strike capabilities of what it calls a sixth-generation aircraft and the program's "digital twin modeling environment."

The Air Force gave few specifics. It said the test took place the previous week but gave no exact date, according to DefenseScoop. The weapon was not identified: an Air Force spokesperson cited operational security and said no other details were releasable, the outlet reported.

The service presented the result as a milestone for the program rather than for a particular munition. According to DefenseScoop, the Air Force said the test confirmed that the bomber can integrate new weapons, validated its open-architecture concept, and moved the program from flight test toward a "functional weapons platform."

Simulation carried much of the preparation. The Air Force said the result drew on "thousands of hours" of digital-twin modeling, which allowed the B-21 Combined Test Force to speed up weapons integration without physically flying every step, DefenseScoop reported.

Senior officials framed the test in terms of deterrence. "This successful test demonstrates our ability to adapt rapidly and hold any target at risk if deterrence fails," the Air Force Secretary said. The Air Force Chief of Staff said that "this weapons test proves the B-21 program is excelling." Northrop Grumman, which builds the aircraft, described it through its aeronautics sector president as "another step closer to giving the U.S. unrivaled deterrence."

The B-21 first flew on November 10, 2023. A second test aircraft was delivered to Edwards in September 2025, according to GlobalMilitary.net's event records.

GlobalMilitary.net's database currently lists three B-21s in the US Air Force's inventory, with 97 more on order, for a total of 100 aircraft. The new bomber joins a force of 140 legacy bombers: 20 B-2 Spirit, 45 B-1B Lancer and 75 B-52 Stratofortress aircraft.

That balance was the subject of earlier coverage. On September 19, GlobalMilitary.net reported that the Air Force was extending the service lives of the B-1 and B-2 while three B-21s were in the fleet. A separate page sets out how the two stealth bombers compare.

The next marker is the bomber's arrival at an operational base. The program is on schedule to have aircraft on the ramp at Ellsworth Air Force Base, South Dakota, in 2027, according to DefenseScoop.

Production capacity is growing in parallel. Northrop Grumman recently opened a 265,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in Layton, Utah, and is building a final assembly facility at Plant 42 in Palmdale, California, which adds about a million square feet to the production line, the outlet reported.