United States Receives Second Sixth-Generation B-21 Raider Bomber

The US Air Force has taken delivery of a second sixth-generation B-21 Raider strategic bomber.

According to the Air Force press service, the aircraft arrived at Edwards Air Force Base on September 11.

Having two aircraft in testing will expand the ability to conduct comprehensive trials and practice maintenance procedures.

The addition of a second B-21 paves the way for critical testing phases, including combat mission systems and weapons integration.

The handover is seen as a significant step toward achieving operational readiness of the new stealth bomber.

Air Force leaders noted that operating multiple aircraft at Edwards provides technical personnel with essential practical experience, from managing parallel maintenance processes to evaluating tools, technical data, and logistics solutions.

Four more bombers are in various stages of production at Northrop Grumman’s plant. The first B-21 from this batch flew in November 2023.

The Air Force plans to purchase at least 100 B-21 Raiders. With that volume, the average unit cost is estimated at about $639 million.

If the schedule holds, the first B-21s will enter service in the mid-2020s, replacing the aging B-2 and B-1 strategic bombers in the long-range fleet.

The first base designated to receive the new bombers is Ellsworth AFB in South Dakota. Whiteman AFB in Missouri and Dyess AFB in Texas have been named as the second and third deployment sites.

B-21 Raider

The B-21 is one of the Air Force’s three top modernization priorities, alongside the F-35A fighter jet and the KC-46 Pegasus tanker.

The Raider is a stealth bomber capable of carrying both conventional and nuclear weapons. Built for high-threat environments, it is intended to secure US airpower for decades.

The B-21 will form part of a broader family of systems for long-range conventional strikes, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, electronic warfare, communications, and other missions.

It will be able to operate in both manned and unmanned modes, carrying a wide range of munitions. The aircraft is being developed with an open architecture designed to simplify future upgrades and integration of new systems.