US Air Force's new B-21 Raider "flying wing" bomber takes first flight -
Reuters witness
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[November 11, 2023]
By Mike Stone and David Swanson
(Reuters) -The U.S. Air Force's B-21 "Raider" bomber shaped like a
flying wing took its first flight on Friday, the next step in rolling
out a new fleet of long-range nuclear-capable stealth bombers built by
Northrop Grumman, according to a Reuters witness.
The B-21 left Northrop's facility at the Air Force's Plant 42 in
Palmdale, California, at sunrise on Friday offering the first unscripted
look at the new bomber which has been developed under strict security.
The plane took off at 6:51 a.m., according to a Reuters witness. Air
Force leaders did not publicize the B-21's first flight, but about three
dozens aviation enthusiasts and amateur photographers gathered around
Plant 42 on Friday hoping to see the bomber take to the skies, according
to the Reuters witness.
The B-21, which carries the same "flying wing" shape of its predecessor,
the B-2, will be able to deliver both conventional and nuclear weapons
around the world using long-range and mid-air refueling capabilities.
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The aircraft are projected to cost approximately $550 million each in
2010 dollars, or about $750 million in today's inflation-adjusted
dollars. However, the Air Force has kept other price information
classified, "which makes validating the proposed cost difficult," the
Congressional Research Service said in a 2021 report.
The Air Force plans to buy at least 100 of the planes and begin to
replace B-1 and B-2 bombers. The B-1 costs about $60,000 per hour to
operate and the B-2 costs about $65,000 per hour, according to Pentagon
data.
Ann Stefanek, an Air Force spokesperson said, "The B-21 Raider is in
flight testing. Flight testing is a critical step in the test campaign
managed by the Air Force Test Center and 412th Test Wings B-21 Combined
Test Force."
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![](../images/111123PIX/news_o97.jpg)
The United States Air Force's B-21 "Raider", the long-range stealth
bomber that can be armed with nuclear weapons, rolls onto the runway
at Northrop Grumman's site at Air Force Plant 42, during its first
flight, in Palmdale, California, U.S., November 10, 2023.
REUTERS/David Swanson
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2023/Nov/11/images/ads/current/rohlfs_lda_FFARM_2023.png)
Six test aircraft are being produced now. They are being built on
the same line, using the tools, processes and technicians that will
build the production aircraft.
Northrop beat out a team comprised of Boeing and Lockheed Martin
when it won the 2015 contract to make the bomber. Engine-maker Pratt
& Whitney, Collins Aerospace, GKN Aerospace, BAE Systems and Spirit
Aerosystems are among the more than 400 suppliers in 40 states.
The B-21 was publicly unveiled in December 2022, but anticipation
surrounding its first flight has been building for years.
In 2019, one top Air Force general hinted that the bomber could fly
as early as December 2021, but the service later pushed that date to
mid-2022. In early 2022, the Air Force further delayed it until
2023.
The B-21 program is in the Engineering and Manufacturing Development
Phase and is on track to deliver aircraft to Ellsworth Air Force
Base in the mid-2020s, according to the Air Force.
Northrop is calling the plane a sixth generation aircraft given its
ability to connect to other aircraft and easily integrate future
weapons into its systems architecture.
The B-21 also features more durable, stealth-enabling low observable
surface material that is expected to require less maintenance and
decrease operations costs and downtime.
(Reporting by David Swanson in Palmdale, California and Mike Stone
in Washington, additional reporting by Valerie Insinna, Editing by
Franklin Paul)
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