IRIA News

U.S. Air Force’s new B-21 Raider long-range nuclear stealth bomber took to the skies for the first time in a successful flying test. The flight test was conducted at the U.S. Air Force’s Plant 42 in Palmdale, California. 

A U.S. Air Force spokesperson Ann Stefanek said “The B-21 Raider is in flight testing. Flight testing is a critical step in the test campaign managed by the Air Force Test Center and 412th Test Wing’s B-21 Combined Test Force to provide survivable, long-range, penetrating strike capabilities to deter aggression and strategic attacks against the United States, allies, and partners.”

A video from the flight test shows the B-21 bomber flying with its landing gears down, accompanied by an F-16 chase plane. The U.S. Air Force did not release an official announcement prior to the B-21’s first flight, however, about three dozen aviation enthusiasts and amateur photographers gathered around Plant 42 hoping to see the bomber take to the skies. The first flight of the 6th generation bomber took place on November 10, 2023, just after dawn.

US Air Force’s new stealth bomber B-21 Raider takes its first flightpic.twitter.com/ipWBtkHKgI

— IRIA (@IRIA_Research) November 13, 2023

The latest B-21 Raider stealth bomber plane has been under development in the cloak of secrecy for a long time. It is a high-tech stealth bomber that will replace the U.S. Air Force’s aging B-1 Lancer and B-2 Spirit bomber fleet. It is a long-range, highly survivable bomber, capable of carrying both conventional and nuclear weapons.

What you need to know about B-21 Raider

• B-21 is the world’s first sixth-generation aircraft to reach the skies. The aircraft integrates more than three decades of strike and stealth technology innovation.
• The Raider offers long range, high survivability, and mission payload flexibility and can penetrate tough defenses for precision strikes.
• B-21 Raider has been designed to become the backbone of the future for U.S. air power.
• Raider’s next-gen stealth and advancements make the aircraft easier and less costly to maintain, while its open architecture enables rapid upgrades, including the incorporation of new weapons and software upgrades.
• In addition to its advanced long-range precision strike capabilities, the stealth bomber provides intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance, electronic attack, and multi-domain networking capabilities.
• B-21 has been designed to ensure essential flexibility and deterrence for the security of the U.S. and its allies in a dynamic global security landscape.

Development of B-21 Raider

U.S. defense giant, Northrop Grumman beat out a team comprised of Boeing and Lockheed Martin in 2015 and won the contract to make the bomber. B-21’s Engine is produced by Pratt & Whitney, while Collins Aerospace, GKN Aerospace, BAE Systems, and Spirit Aerosystems as well as more than 400 different suppliers are participating in the development and production process.

Since winning the contract in 2015, Northrop Grumman has brought together over 8,000 professionals, including industry partners and Air Force personnel across 40 states, to design, test, and build the world’s most advanced strike aircraft, the B-21.

In 2018, the Air Force conducted a comprehensive weapon systems test, design maturity, stability, and risk evaluation. In 2021, the U.S. Air Force selected the Ellsworth Air Force Base in South Dakota as the main operating base and location of the Formal Training Unit for the B-21 bomber. Currently, six B-21 bombers are in various stages of final assembly in Northrop Grumman’s Palmdale facility in California.

The plane was unveiled for the first time in December 2022. Development of the B-21 bomber is part of the Pentagon’s efforts to modernize all three legs of its nuclear triad, which also includes the development of land-based nuclear ballistic missiles and submarine-launched warheads, as the Pentagon tries to catch up with China’s rapid military modernization. China is on track to develop at least 1500 nuclear warheads by 2035, as it also gains the upper hand in hypersonic weapons and cyber warfare capabilities.

The B-21 was officially named the “Raider” in 2016, to honor the Doolittle Raiders of World War II that carried out the first airstrikes against Japan, setting off a mission that changed the course of the war.