Northrop Grumman Secures Contract for B-21 Raider Bomber Pre-Production

The U.S. corporation Northrop Grumman has received the first order for the pre-production of B-21 Raider strategic bombers.

William LaPlante, Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment, reported about this to Air & Space Forces Magazine.

LaPlante said that at the end of 2023, Northrop Grumman was awarded the initial production contract for the B-21 bombers for the United States Air Force.

“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,” LaPlante said.

He did not supply the contract amount, the number of aircraft it covers, or the exact date it was awarded, but his statement indicates it was before the end of 2023.

However, according to some reports, the cost of the bomber could be about $639 million for each board.

A spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Defense noted that the B-21 will replace the B-1B and B-2A to provide strategic deterrence and is expected to enter service in the mid-2020s.

The U.S. Air Force did not say how long the B-21 will be in flight testing or when it is expected to reach combat readiness.

However, the service has acknowledged that five more aircraft are in some stage of construction at Plant 42. After developmental and operational testing is complete, those aircraft will have their test instrumentation removed and will be modified into operational bombers.

B-21 Raider

The B-21 is one of the three priority projects of the U.S. Air Force Command, along with the F-35A fighter jet and the KC-46 Pegasus military aerial refueling and strategic military transport aircraft.

The Raider is a stealthy, dual-role bomber capable of carrying both conventional and nuclear weapons. Designed for use in the high threat environment of “tomorrow,” the B-21 will play a crucial role in ensuring the future capabilities of the US Air Force.

The B-21 Raider will be a component of a larger family of systems for long-range conventional strikes, information gathering, surveillance and reconnaissance, electronic jamming, communications, and other capabilities.

It will be used in manned and unmanned modes and will carry a wide range of ammunition. The B-21 is being developed on the basis of an open architecture to reduce risks when integrating new modernized systems.