The US Air Force on Wednesday published more photos of its newest stealth bomber, the B-21 Raider, as the penetrating strike aircraft continues to work through flight testing.
The photos, captured in January and April, show the sleek-looking new bomber in the middle of its testing — consisting of ground testing, taxiing, and flight operations — at California’s Edwards Air Force Base. The new images come as the long-range aircraft inches closer to entering service later this decade.
Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics Andrew Hunter said earlier this month that the B-21’s flight test program is “proceeding well” and is on schedule to meet timelines and delivery schedules.
“It is doing what flight test programs are designed to do, which is helping us learn about the unique characteristics of this platform, but in a very, very effective way,” Hunter said during testimony to the Senate Armed Services Committee on May 8.
The B-21 is the US military’s first strategic bomber in more than 30 years. Development began in 2015, and the Pentagon unveiled the Raider to the public in December 2022. Nearly a year later, in November 2023, the aircraft finally embarked on its much-anticipated first flight. Following the success of ground and flight tests, it was cleared to enter low-rate initial production.
The US Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office manages the acquisition program with a strategy of building test bombers “as production-representative as possible,” the 412th Test Wing said in a Wednesday statement.
“Rather than a traditional flight prototype approach, B-21 test aircraft are built including mission systems using the same manufacturing processes and tooling for production aircraft,” the Wing said, adding that “this approach in development laid the groundwork for production to start more quickly.”
The B-21 is expected to enter service in the latter half of the decade. The military has a goal of producing at least 100 of these aircraft. The Raider, US officials say, is slated to incrementally replace the B-1B Lancer and B-2 Spirit bombers.
Pentagon leadership has stressed that the B-21 will form the “backbone” of America’s future bomber fleet. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin has praised the aircraft’s stealth capabilities, saying that decades of advances in low-observable technology have gone into the bomber’s development.
“Even the most sophisticated air-defense systems will struggle to detect a B-21 in the sky,” Austin said at the aircraft’s unveiling.
Northrop Grumman, which manufactures the bomber, has touted the plane as the “world’s first sixth-generation aircraft.” It can be armed with standoff and direct-attack munitions and will be able to conduct both conventional and nuclear strikes.
