The second U.S. Air Force B-21 Raider stealth bomber by Northrop Grumman has arrived at Edwards Air Force Base (AFB), Calif., for flight testing, the service said Thursday.
“With the arrival of the second B-21 Raider, our flight test campaign gains substantial momentum,” Air Force Secretary Troy Meink said in a statement.
The Air Force plans for 100 B-21s, although the service is interested in buying up to 145. The fiscal 2025 reconciliation law includes $4.5 billion to increase B-21 production capacity.
The second flight test B-21 at Edwards “expands the Air Force’s testing capabilities beyond initial flight performance checks, enabling progression into critical mission systems and weapons integration testing phases,” the service said. “This advancement marks a significant step toward operational readiness of the nation’s sixth-generation stealth bomber.”
“The presence of multiple test aircraft at Edwards AFB also provides Air Force maintainers invaluable hands-on experience in managing simultaneous aircraft sustainment operations, testing the effectiveness of maintenance tools, technical data and the logistical processes that will support future operational squadrons,” the Air Force said.
The B-21 is designed to have the capability of carrying both conventional and nuclear weapons, which the National Nuclear Security Administration is responsible for producing and maintaining. As of last October, the 2025 Stockpile Stewardship Management Plan said that the B61-12 life extension program, which completed its last production unit in December, is continuing to certify the B-21 to carry the gravity bomb.
Five low-rate initial production (LRIP) lots cover the first 21 B-21s, and the next 19 bombers will be contracted under “not-to-exceed” terms already set at a higher price than the LRIP work, according to Northrop Grumman.
Exchange Monitor affiliate Defense Daily first published a version of this article.