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The Northrop Grumman B-21 Raider is an American strategic bomber under development for the United States Air Force (USAF) by Northrop Grumman. As part of the Long Range Strike Bomber (LRS-B) program, it is to be a long-range, stealth intercontinental strategic bomber for the USAF, able to deliver conventional and thermonuclear weapons.[1][2][3] The Air Force intends the B-21 to replace the Rockwell B-1 Lancer and Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit by 2040, and possibly the Boeing B-52 Stratofortress after that.[4]

The Air Force began planning for the B-21 in 2011[5] and awarded the major development contract in 2015.[6] The B-21 is expected to make its first flight in 2023 and enter service by 2027.[7][8]

Many aspects of the B-21 program are highly classified; the program is designated as a special access program.[4] The Congressional Research Service noted in 2021 that the B-21’s technical details and specifications, such as speed, enabling systems, “size, required stealth, structure, number and type of engines, projected weapons, and onboard sensors remain classified” although some information about various other aspects of the program have been made public since 2015.[4] The first photos of the aircraft were released on 2 December 2022, taken during a rollout ceremony at Northrop Grumman’s production facilities in Palmdale, California.

Design and development
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Main articles: Next-Generation Bomber and Long Range Strike Bomber

Artist’s rendering of the B-21 from February 2016. During the 2022 unveiling, the aircraft was shown to have a light gray color instead.
The classified Long Range Strike Bomber (LRS-B) program began in 2011,[5] and the Air Force issued a request for proposal to develop a LRS-B aircraft in July 2014.[5][9] A development contract was awarded to Northrop Grumman in October 2015.[6] Boeing and Lockheed Martin, who submitted losing bids for the project, filed bid protests;[10] in October 2016, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) rejected the challenges and sustained the USAF’s decision to award the LRS-B contract to Northrop Grumman. The GAO report revealed that cost was the deciding factor in selecting Northrop Grumman over the Boeing-Lockheed Martin team.[11][12]

Management and acquisition of the B-21 program is being overseen by the Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office, rather than through the traditional military-procurement process.[4] However, the B-21 program remains subject to the Nunn–McCurdy reporting requirements to Congress.[4]

A 2015 media report said the Air Force wanted the bomber to also function as an intelligence collection platform, battle manager, and interceptor aircraft.[6] In 2016, then–Secretary of the Air Force Deborah Lee James said that the B-21 would be a “fifth-generation global precision attack platform” with networked sensor-shoot capability.[13] Northrop Grumman describes the B-21 as “the world’s first sixth-generation aircraft.”[14]

At the 2016 Air Warfare Symposium, Air Force officials announced that the LRS-B would be formally designated “B-21” because the aircraft would be the 21st century’s first bomber.[15] In September 2016, Air Force officials announced that the B-21 would be named “Raider” in honor of the Doolittle Raiders.[16] Retired Lt. Col. Richard E. Cole, the last living member of the Doolittle Raiders, was present at the naming ceremony at the Air Force Association conference.[17]

In March 2016, the USAF announced seven tier-one suppliers for the program: Pratt & Whitney, BAE Systems, Spirit AeroSystems, Orbital ATK, Rockwell Collins, GKN Aerospace, and Janicki Industries.[18][19]

In 2016, the F-35 program manager Chris Bogdan said the B-21’s engines would be similar enough to the F-35’s Pratt & Whitney F135 engine to reduce its cost.[20]

The program completed its critical design review in December 2018.[21]

In January 2020, Air Force officials released new B-21 renderings and Northrop Grumman, showing the distinctive flush and blended inlets and the two-wheel main landing gear design. The drawing appeared to show a smaller, lighter aircraft than the B-2.[22][23]

Richard E. Cole (left), the last living Doolittle Raider, announces the name of the B-21 with Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James (right), during the Air Force Association conference on 19 September 2016.

The first B-21 at Northrop’s Plant 42 in Palmdale, California, 29 November 2022.
In September 2022, the USAF announced that the B-21 was to be unveiled in early December 2022 at Northrop Grumman’s production facilities in Palmdale, California.[24] The ceremony took place on 2 December 2022.[25][26] At the unveiling, Northrop CEO Kathy Warden said that the B-21 is designed with modular, open systems architecture to allow easy upgrades,[a] and potentially, the ability to export components to foreign buyers.[28] Warden said that the B-21’s internal operations were “extremely advanced compared to the B-2” and that the B-21 was…[Read more]