Northrop Grumman Corporation and the U.S. Air Force unveiled the B-21 Raider to the world on December 02, 2022. The B-21 Raider joins the nuclear triad as a visible and flexible deterrent designed for the U.S. Air Force to meet its most complex missions.

«The Northrop Grumman team develops and delivers technology that advances science, looks into the future and brings it to the here and now», said Kathy Warden, chair, chief executive officer and president, Northrop Grumman. «The B-21 Raider defines a new era in technology and strengthens America’s role of delivering peace through deterrence».

The B-21 Raider forms the backbone of the future for U.S. air power, leading a powerful family of systems that deliver a new era of capability and flexibility through advanced integration of data, sensors and weapons. Its sixth-generation capabilities include stealth, information advantage and open architecture.

«The B-21 Raider is a testament to America’s enduring advantages in ingenuity and innovation. And it’s proof of the Department’s long-term commitment to building advanced capabilities that will fortify America’s ability to deter aggression, today and into the future. Now, strengthening and sustaining U.S. deterrence is at the heart of our National Defense Strategy», said Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III. «This bomber was built on a foundation of strong, bipartisan support in Congress. And because of that support, we will soon fly this aircraft, test it and then move into production».

The B-21 Raider is capable of networking across the battlespace to multiple systems, and into all domains. Supported by a digital ecosystem throughout its lifecycle, the B-21 Raider can quickly evolve through rapid technology upgrades that provide new capabilities to outpace future threats.

«With the B-21 Raider, the U.S. Air Force will be able to deter or defeat threats anywhere in the world», said Tom Jones, corporate vice president and president, Northrop Grumman Aeronautics Systems. «The B-21 Raider exemplifies how Northrop Grumman is leading the industry in digital transformation and digital engineering, ultimately delivering more value to our customers».

The B-21 Raider is named in honor of the Doolittle Raids of World War II when 80 men, led by Lieutenant Colonel James «Jimmy» Doolittle, and 16 B-25 Mitchell medium bombers set off on a mission that changed the course of World War II. The designation B-21 recognizes the Raider as the first bomber of the 21st century.

In early May, Northrop Grumman successfully completed the first – and most critical – loads calibration test of the first B-21 Raider aircraft. The recent test is one of three major conditions the aircraft will undergo in this phase of ground testing as it progresses toward first flight. Loads calibration, which focuses on calibrating instrumentation prior to flight and verifying structural integrity, has yielded positive and consistent results. During testing, the B-21’s airframe endures varying percentages of stress to ensure the aircraft can proceed on its path to flight readiness.

During the ground test phase, in addition to loads calibration, the team will power up the aircraft, test its subsystems, and apply coatings and paint. The next steps will include carrying out engine runs as well as low-speed and high-speed taxi tests, and then on to first flight.

From day one, Northrop Grumman has proactively worked to burn down as much production risk as possible. Throughout the Engineering, Manufacturing and Development phase, the company has emphasized risk reduction efforts and production readiness as one of the many priorities for the B-21 Raider program. In line with the risk-based approach, the successful calibration test is a significant milestone that further validates the efficacy of the company’s digital design capabilities and advanced manufacturing techniques.

Northrop Grumman has invested in a robust production program – one that is foundational to the National Defense Strategy – to deliver the B-21 Raider at a rate that will have a real effect for the U.S. Air Force in combating the threat. Innovative application of digital engineering and commercial off-the-shelf digital tools continue to deliver an advanced degree of precision and efficiency in the build process, with production risk reduction progressing every day as B-21 Raider test aircraft move down the actual production line.

The first flight projection of 2023, as is now being reported by the Air Force, is aligned with the information communicated during the company’s Q1 earnings call and remains on-schedule to the government Acquisition Program Baseline.

As the Air Force has indicated, the focus is on a safe first flight of a production representative aircraft. With six aircraft in various stages of production and test, Northrop Grumman is progressing toward that objective as it continues to reduce risk, refine the building process, and mature the test fleet ahead of first flight.

Randy Walden, director of the Department of the Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office and program executive officer of the B-21 Raider program, recently said, «The B-21 Raider test aircraft is the most production-representative aircraft, both structurally and in its mission systems, at this point in a program, that I’ve observed in my career». With the first aircraft in the ground test phase and a successful loads calibration under its belt, Northrop Grumman is paving the way for the B-21 Raider Rollout later this year and first flight in 2023.

The Department of the Air Force awarded $108 million to Northrop Grumman for advance procurement to support the B-21 Raider program.

Advance procurement funds will directly support the acquisition of long lead items necessary to build the first lot of production B-21 Raider aircraft. The award of advance procurement reaffirms the Air Force’s commitment to fielding what will become the backbone of the 21st century bomber fleet.

«The B-21 Raider program is foundational to the Air Force’s operational imperative for an effective, long-range strike family of systems to guarantee our ability to strike any target, anytime, anywhere, even in the most contested environment», said Air Force Chief of Staff General Charles Q. Brown, Jr.

«As the Air Force celebrates its 75th anniversary, the Raider is a standout example of the innovation and pursuit of game-changing technology that has characterized our service since its inception», Brown continued. «The quality of the aircraft build, coupled with its open systems architecture design and built-in margin for future growth, will provide our warfighters the competitive advantage we’ll need to deter current and future conflicts, and fight and win if called upon to do so».

The B-21 Raider test aircraft currently being manufactured under the Engineering and Manufacturing Development contract with Northrop Grumman are being built on the same production line, using the same tooling, processes and technicians to build the production aircraft.

«The B-21 Raider test aircraft are the most production-representative aircraft, both structurally and in its mission systems, at this point in a program, that I’ve observed in my career. The right decisions are being made on this program to pave the way for a high-fidelity flight test campaign and an effective transition to production», shared Randall Walden, Department of the Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office director.

The first B-21 Raider flight test aircraft recently entered loads calibration to undergo verification and validation testing of its structural design prior to flight. After loads calibration, further integration and ground testing will inform the program schedule and flight readiness.

Progress continues across all elements of the B-21 Raider program. The fiscal year 2022 Defense Appropriations Act provided funding for five new military construction projects to stand-up the B-21 Raider mission at Ellsworth Air Force Base (AFB), South Dakota, the Raider’s first main operating base. Construction of a low observable maintenance hangar, the first of its kind on the 80-year-old conventional bomber base, is already underway.

An environmental impact statement is set to begin this year to inform final decisions on the second and third main operating bases to bed-down the full B-21 Raider fleet. As announced by the Secretary of the Air Force in 2019, preferred locations for the second and third B-21 Raider main operating bases are Whiteman AFB, Missouri, and Dyess AFB, Texas, respectively.