Northrop Grumman’s Next-Gen Flying Wing Continues Development

Nearly a year after its original unveiling last December, the B-21 Raider was spied making its first flight test, exciting aviation enthusiasts with the long-running B-2 Spirit’s successor.

Despite the futuristic and utilitarian design of flying wings, they remain a niche aircraft type, only really in service with the US Air Force in the B-2. As such, the excitement was unsurprising when Northrop Grumman showed off the slippery, flat form of the Raider to throngs of onlookers.Photographers caught the daytime flight of the first B-21 on November 10th, capturing the sights and sounds of the next-gen bomber. Currently, only half a dozen aircraft are in the production pipeline, with plans to one day acquire 100 or more once approved. 

In a public statement, Air Force mouthpiece Ann Stefanek confirmed the Raider’s flight testing, saying that “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.” Stefanek also acknowledged the current timetable for delivered aircraft, with B-21s on track to be delivered to Ellsworth AFB in the “mid 2020s”. 

Testing will continue at Edwards AFB, ever the home of all things new and exciting in the Air Force.

FMI: www.northropgrumman.com