On September 18, 2024, the United States Air Force released the first video of the stealth bomber B-21 Raider during its flight tests. The short clip shows the Raider taking off and landing at Edwards Air Force Base in California, where an extensive flight testing campaign is currently underway.
The video was released to coincide with the B-21 update briefing at the 2024 Air, Space & Cyber Conference, organized by the Air & Space Forces Association.
“The B-21 will form the backbone of the future bomber force for the Air Force, offering range, access, and payload capabilities that will allow it to penetrate the most challenging environments and threaten targets anywhere in the world,” the Air Force stated. Preparations are underway at Ellsworth Air Force Base in South Dakota, the first base selected to receive the B-21, for the new bomber’s flights.
The latest update on the program came from General Thomas Bussiere, head of the U.S. Air Force Global Strike Command: “We continue to reach B-21 production milestones; with digital engineering and open architecture, we are acquiring a flexible strategic deterrent that ensures a decisive response when needed.”
As previously reported, the B-21 Raider took to the skies for the first time on November 10, 2023, relocating from Air Force Plant 42 in Palmdale, California, to Edwards Air Force Base. Northrop Grumman, the company developing and building the bomber, states that currently, three B-21 units are undergoing testing at Edwards Air Force Base, including one flight-worthy aircraft and two others used for ground testing.
This information emerged as new details about the classified B-21 program were revealed at the ASC 2024 conference, which focused on B-21 updates. The discussion included participants such as General Bussiere, Major General Jason Armagost (Commander of the Eighth Air Force and the Joint Global Strike Operations Center), William Bailey (Director of the Rapid Capabilities Office of the U.S. Department of the Air Force), and Thomas Jones (President of Northrop Grumman Aeronautics Systems’ Aeronautical Systems sector). Jones mentioned that the aircraft currently can conduct up to two test flights per week, adding that they aim to make it capable of flying daily.
The focus on making the B-21 a “daily aircraft” stems from lessons learned from the maintenance experience of the B-2 Spirit, which is notoriously difficult to maintain. These challenges were taken into account by Northrop Grumman and the Air Force during the development of the B-21.
The participants also discussed a significant milestone when the B-21 completed static testing on the G-1 stand, one of two ground test specimens used to assess the aircraft’s structural integrity. This test was crucial for “validating the reliability of the aircraft’s design and confirming confidence in the digital models,” Bailey said. During the discussion, it was confirmed that 21 bombers are currently contracted under the Low-Rate Initial Production program, with deliveries expected in the mid-2020s.
General Bussiere discussed current strategic threats posed by adversaries and the necessity of bomber forces, highlighting the future capabilities that the B-21 will provide to address these threats. He emphasized the advanced technological level of the new aircraft, which is already being called the first 6th-generation aircraft.
“No one on the planet can do what we are doing right now. No one on the planet can build such a sophisticated, technologically advanced platform as the B-21, and frankly, no one on the planet can threaten what we can threaten at a time and place of our choosing,” Bussiere stated.
Source: TheAviationist
