The B-21 Raider stealth bomber program is starting to make strides. A few weeks after its maiden flight and a few days after initial flight testing, the Department of Defense has given Northrup Grumman the green light to start whole-scale production. 

Fire Up the B-21 Factories

America’s fifth-generation strategic stealth bomber is moving forward. 

“Production of the B-21 ‘Raider’ stealth bomber is moving forward. This past fall, based on the results of ground and flight tests and the team’s mature plans for manufacturing, I gave the go-ahead to begin producing B-21s at a low rate,” Dr. William LaPlante, defense undersecretary for acquisition and sustainment, said in a press release. 

There are currently six test aircraft, and at least one of them has completed a test flight in recent days. That was a requirement for Northrup Grumman to activate the low-rate initial production part of the contract. 

“One of the key attributes of this program has been designing for production from the start – and at scale – to provide a credible deterrent to adversaries. If you don’t produce and field to warfighters at scale, the capability doesn’t really matter,” the Pentagon official added. 

The Air Force expects to have operational aircraft in the next few years. 

As a strategic, deep-strike bomber, the B-21 Raider comes to fill a widening capability gap. With China and Russia spending hundreds of billions of dollars on their militaries, advanced air defense weapons and systems are increasing. To maintain credible deterrence, the Air Force needed a new aircraft that would be able to strike anywhere in the world. The current U.S. bomber fleet (B-1 Lancer, B-2 Spirit, and B-52 Stratofortress) can’t do that with reasonable certainty. Enter the B-21 Raider. 

Although there is nothing definite at this point, the Air Force has expressed a need for up to 100 B-21 Raiders. With an approximate price tag of $600 million per aircraft, that means that the Air Force is looking at a $60 billion program. 

In addition to these B-21 Raiders, the Air Force will maintain a fleet of about 60 upgraded B-52H Stratofortresses for less demanding bombing missions. The B-21 will replace the B-1 Lancer and B-2 Spirit bombers currently in service. 

A B-21 Raider Rising 

The new strategic bomber got the name “Raider” from the Doolittle Raiders of World War Two fame. 

Flying 16 B-25 Mitchell medium bombers, 80 brave airmen staged a surprise attack against Tokyo, Japan, on April 18, 1942, as the U.S. was still trying to recover from the disaster at Pearl Harbor. The specially modified aircraft took off from aircraft carriers for a bold raid with little chance of success. But the American public—and the Allies—needed a psychological boost. Although the physical damage they inflicted on Japanese military infrastructure wasn’t serious, the raid lit the fire of the counteroffensive and showed that the Japanese weren’t that invincible after all. 

More than 80 years later, the Air Force seeks to transfuse this same spirit of boldness and innovation in its new strategic bomber. 

About the Author  

Stavros Atlamazoglou is a seasoned defense journalist specializing in special operations and a Hellenic Army veteran (national service with the 575th Marine Battalion and Army HQ). He holds a BA from Johns Hopkins University and an MA from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS). His work has been featured in Business Insider, Sandboxx, and SOFREP. Email the author: [email protected].