The B-21 appears to be making steady progress in its development phase.
The US Air Force’s next-generation stealth bomber program continues to make progress. According to an official late last month, a second B-21 “Raider” is expected to embark on its maiden flight by the end of the year. Lt. Gen. Andrew Gebara, deputy chief of staff for strategic deterrence and nuclear integration, provided more detail: “I believe it will happen before the end of the year, but we’re not going to ever give them an artificial date that they have to make if it doesn’t bring the test program along to where they need to be. We’re going to proceed as we can, efficiently, effectively, and with a sense of urgency, but we’re also going to be event-based.”
The impressive B-21 stealth bomber made its premiere flight in 2023. Northrop Grumman, the B-21’s manufacturer, was given the green light in 2024 to begin production and is currently in discussions to quicken the process.
The B-21 Raider: What We Know
Initially, the Air Force had planned to procure 100 B-21s in total. However, in order to fully satisfy the country’s bomber needs, some military officials have advocated for beefing up this total number to 145. Both China and Russia are simultaneously working to field their own next-generation bomber platforms, making the B-21’s timely introduction paramount to national security. Down the line, the Raider bombers are intended to replace the service’s existing fleet of 19 B-2 Spirit bombers as well as more than 40 remaining B-1 Lancer bombers.
Named to honor the Doolittle Raiders of World War II, the B-21 platform is expected to reach operational capacity with the Air Force over the next few years. The Raider is the product of the service’s Long-Range Strike Bomber program, which was initiated back in 2011. Northrop Grumman ultimately beat out competitors Boeing and Lockheed Martin, securing the contract to design and develop the B-21 platform. The Raiders are being assembled at the US Air Force Plant 42 near Palmdale, California, notably the same location the manufacturer had used to build the B-2 Spirits decades earlier.
While specific specs and details surrounding the B-21 remain highly classified, the limited information available to the public indicates the platform is truly next-level in terms of capability. Based on images of the bomber, the Raider’s wingspan may be around 15 percent shorter than its Spirit predecessor, which would give the bomber a huge advantage in the stealth arena. Additionally, some analysts believe the Raider’s weapons-carrying capacity will be massive. Like the F-35 Lightning II fighter platform, the upcoming bomber will also incorporate modular systems that will allow for future upgrades to be more seamlessly incorporated as they come about.
The B-21 appears to be making steady progress in its development phase. However, Beijing has also alleged that its Xi’an H-20 counterpart is also ticking along in terms of accelerated development. As tensions between Washington and Beijing continue to rise, ensuring the timely introduction of the Raider platform should be a top priority for the Air Force.
About the Author: Maya Carlin
Maya Carlin, National Security Writer with The National Interest, is an analyst with the Center for Security Policy and a former Anna Sobol Levy Fellow at IDC Herzliya in Israel. She has bylines in many publications, including The National Interest, The Jerusalem Post, and The Times of Israel. You can follow her on Twitter: @MayaCarlin.
Image: DVIDS.
