B-21 Raider: The 'Cheap' Stealth Bomber?
The U.S. Air Force’s B-21 Raider program, led by Northrop Grumman, is seeing a surprising reduction in initial procurement costs. Budgeted at $13.8 billion for fiscal year 2025, this reflects a nearly 28% decrease from earlier estimates.
What You Need to Know: The U.S. Air Force’s B-21 Raider program, led by Northrop Grumman, is seeing a surprising reduction in initial procurement costs. Budgeted at $13.8 billion for fiscal year 2025, this reflects a nearly 28% decrease from earlier estimates.
-This cost efficiency benefits the Air Force, allowing more Raiders to be built during low-rate initial production (LRIP), and alleviates potential early losses for Northrop Grumman.
-This progress has been made possible through streamlined production processes and cost management aligned with the Nunn-McCurdy Act, aiming to prevent budget overruns on major defense programs. The Raider is on track for timely, budget-friendly production.
Air Force B-21 Raider Costs Drop Nearly 30%—More Bombers Expected
The future backbone of the United States Air Force's bomber fleet is going to be terrifyingly expensive – so much so that it should send chills down the spine of taxpayers. Yet, according to a report from Aviation Week, the Northrop Grumman B-21 Raider may be "less expensive," at least in the initial lots. The aerospace trade magazine noted that the air service had anticipated in fiscal year 2023 (FY23) that the first five lots of the B-21 would cost around $19.1 billion.
However, for fiscal year 2025 (FY25) – which began on October 1, 2024 – the Air Force has budgeted $13.8 billion, "a nearly 28% discount, to buy the same number of Raiders between fiscal 2023 and 2027."
The falling prices aren't exactly breaking news, as it was reported in April that the procurement costs for the FY25 budget request was $2.7 billion for a still unspecified number of initial production aircraft. That was down from the $4.0 billion requested in fiscal year 2024 (FY24), while the fiscal 2026 estimate is now expected to come in at around $3.9 billion – about $600 million lower than previously anticipated.
Good News for Northrop Grumman (and its Shareholders)
Aviation Week also reported that this will be good news for aerospace giant Northrop Grumman, the prime contractor of the B-21. The company had announced earlier this year that it could lose up to $1.56 billion producing the first aircraft after it had previously expected a loss of $1.2 billion.
Though Northrop Grumman can still expect to take an early hit on the B-21 Raider, the falling costs will mean it the Air Force will add more aircraft during the low-rate initial production (LRIP), which began in January. Northrop Grumman CEO Kathy Warden has pitched the Air Force on increasing its order size for the next-generation stealth strategic bomber.
"The performance that we are delivering gives them a capability that is in production now that is well below the cost target for the platform," Warden told analysts on an earnings call last month.
B-21 Program Moves Forward
It was only a year ago that the B-21 Raider made its maiden flight after being unveiled about 11 months prior in December 2022. The program is steadily moving forward as test flights continue.
More importantly, the six prototype aircraft were already in various stages of production by the end of last year, and those Raiders were being built on the same lines, using the same tools and processes that are now building the LRIP aircraft. That approach has enabled production engineers and technicians to capture lessons learned and apply them directly to follow-on aircraft, driving home a focus on repeatability, producibility, and quality.
It has also ensured the aircraft will stay within budget.
As previously reported, the U.S. Air Force's B-21 Raider program was mapped out to avoid a Nunn-McCurdy Act breach that could come from out-of-control development costs.
That legislation, made permanent in 1983, allows lawmakers to better manage the cost of Major Defense Acquisition Programs, as it requires the Pentagon to inform lawmakers if a program will incur a cost or schedule overrun of more than fifteen percent. That has forced Northrop Grumman to better manage costs, and stick to the schedule.
Perhaps the cold chills aren't quite so chilly after all.
The U.S. Air Force’s B-21 Raider program, led by Northrop Grumman, is seeing a surprising reduction in initial procurement costs. Budgeted at $13.8 billion for fiscal year 2025, this reflects a nearly 28% decrease from earlier estimates.
Author Experience and Expertise: Peter Suciu
Peter Suciu is a Michigan-based writer. He has contributed to more than four dozen magazines, newspapers, and websites with over 3,200 published pieces over a twenty-year career in journalism. He regularly writes about military hardware, firearms history, cybersecurity, politics, and international affairs. Peter is also a Contributing Writer for Forbes and Clearance Jobs. You can follow him on Twitter: @PeterSuciu. You can email the author: [email protected].
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