Northrop-Grumman Reports B-21 Proceeding Apace in Ground-Testing

Northrop Grumman stated that the public unveiling of its next-generation stealth bomber, the B-21 Raider, is still expected later this year.

The aircraft—an advanced, very long-range, heavy-payload, stealthy, intercontinental strategic bomber—is an integral component of the U.S. Air Force’s Long Range Strike Bomber (LRS-B) program. When complete, the B-21 will be able to deliver conventional and/or thermonuclear ordnance to targets anywhere in the world.

Expected to enter service in 2026, the B-21 Raider is to complement existing Rockwell B-1 Lancer, Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit, and Boeing B-52 fleets already in U.S. service, and eventually replace these bombers.

Currently, six B-21s are in production, with the first aircraft having completed a series of ground-tests at Air Force Plant 42 in Palmdale, California. Subject tests included critical load-calibration assessments which encompassed configuring the aircraft’s instruments and verifying its structural integrity. Subsequent ground-testing comprised powering up the bomber, assessing its subsystems, and applying protective coatings and paint.

Northrop plans to carry out engine runs, and both low and high-speed taxi tests before the B-21 departs on its maiden flight from Palmdale to Edwards Air Force Base, where formal flight testing will commence.

Northrop’s confirmation of a 2023 first flight imparts a degree of certainty to a program thus-far hampered by delays. Original hopes for a December 2021 first flight of the new bomber went unrealized, and both Air Force and Northrop officials have subsequently become more cautious in their statements.

FMI: www.af.mil, www.northropgrumman.com