Company Says Two Test Aircraft Will Be Flying Next Year

The U.S. Air Force says that an expansion of production of its Next-gen stealth bomber, Northrop’s B-21 Raider, could be accomplished at the company’s Palmdale, California plant. The Air Force also said that at least two of the aircraft should be flying in 2026 and although they’ll be configured for testing, they can be rapidly converted for combat use.

Funding for the increased production is included in both the Congress’s Reconciliation bill recently passed and the Air Force budget for 2026. An Air Force spokesperson said “planned production expansion will be accomplished within the Northrop Grumman Palmdale, CA campus, as well as some Tier 1 supplier locations.”

The Air Force said previously regarding B-21 budget questions that it is “committed to the successful fielding of the B-21 and is investing in the infrastructure necessary to support an increased yearly production capacity.”

The increased spending is a “proactive measure” that will ensure “the long-term health and efficiency of the production line, enabling us to deliver this critical capability to the warfighter.”

The service’s budget request for 2026 totals $10.3 billion for the B-21, including research and development and also production. Of that total, the reconciliation bill earmarked $4.5 billion for expanded manufacturing.

The Air Force’s production target is at least 100 aircraft, and are intended to replace the B-2 and B-1 in the early 2030s. The first B-21 schoolhouse for pilot and maintainer training, as well as its first operational base is slated to be Ellsworth Air Force Base in South Dakota.

Northrop Grumman was awarded the B-21 contract in 2015 under the Long-Range Strike Bomber program with the projection that the first aircraft would be flying in the mid-2020s.

FMI:  www.northropgrumman.com/