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The B-21 Raider took its first test flight on Friday, moving the futuristic warplane closer to becoming the nation’s next nuclear weapons stealth bomber.

“The B-21 Raider is in flight testing,” Air Force spokeswoman Ann Stefanek said.

Such testing is a critical step in the campaign to provide “survivable, long-range, penetrating strike capabilities to deter aggression and strategic attacks against the United States, allies, and partners,” Stefanek said.

theoderich hat geschrieben: ↑So 29. Okt 2023, 13:23On Oct. 25, 2023, the first images of the B-21 Raider stealth bomber during ground testing outside of its Palmdale hangar have started to circulate online. The picture, posted online by a now deleted user on Reddit, shows the new stealth bomber apparently idle under its own power, with security flanking the aircraft.

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A fleet of at least 100 Northrop Grumman B-21 Raiders will increase the U.S. Strategic Command’s requirement for air refueling volume, a top Defense Department mobility leader said on March 5.

Gen. Randall Reed, Transportation Command chief, said he learned of the B-21’s extra refueling requirement during a meeting in the past month with Gen. Anthony Cotton, the head of Strategic Command.

“We got a really deep understanding in terms of how they intend to employ their new aircraft,” Reed told the panel. “And that will drive a slightly different way in which we are to support them, which actually means that it’s going to be a little bit higher requirement specifically in the fuel transfer.”

A Transportation Command spokesman later clarified that Reed meant that a larger fleet of B-21s compared to the 20-strong Northrop B-2A fleet will need a larger number of air refueling tankers to support operations.

Reed and Cotton are now teaming up to lobby the U.S. Air Force to address the B-21’s need for a faster fuel transfer rate, Reed added.

The disclosure offers a rare glimpse into the secretive operational plans for the Air Force’s next-generation bomber.

NORTHROP GRUMMAN CORPORATION
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS
(Unaudited)

$ in millions

Operating activities

B-21 loss provision

2025

477

2024

-

B-21 Program

During the fourth quarter of 2023, we recognized a projected loss of $1.56 billion across the five low-rate initial production (LRIP) options on the B-21 program. During the first quarter of 2025, we recognized an additional $477 million loss across the five LRIP options. This additional loss largely relates to higher manufacturing costs primarily resulting from a process change made by the company to enable an accelerated production ramp, as well as increases in the projected cost and quantity of general procurement materials. The additional loss comprises $226 million of unfavorable EAC adjustments on the first and second LRIP lots and a $251 million loss contingency accrual for lots 3-5, which have not yet been exercised. As of March 31, 2025, the remaining loss accrual on the B-21 program totaled $1.7 billion, which is included in Other current liabilities.

B-21 Program

In 2015, the U.S. Air Force awarded Northrop Grumman the B-21 contract, which includes a base contract for engineering and manufacturing development (EMD) and five low-rate initial production (LRIP) options for a baseline total of 21 aircraft. The EMD phase of the program is largely cost type and began at contract award. The LRIP options are largely fixed price and are expected to continue to be awarded and executed through approximately the end of the decade. In addition to the five LRIP options, Northrop Grumman and the U.S. Air Force have established not to exceed (NTE) pricing for additional aircraft up to unit 40. The average NTE value for these subsequent lots is above the average unit price of the five LRIP lots, and the NTE lots include an economic price adjustment clause to help protect against certain inflationary pressures. Final terms, quantity, and pricing for these subsequent lots are not fully negotiated.

During the fourth quarter of 2023, we recognized a projected loss of $1.56 billion across the five LRIP options. During the first quarter of 2025, we reviewed our estimated profitability on the program and recognized an additional $477 million loss across the five LRIP options. This additional loss largely relates to higher manufacturing costs primarily resulting from a process change made by the company to enable an accelerated production ramp, as well as increases in the projected cost and quantity of general procurement materials.

The company’s first quarter 2025 results reflect our current best estimate of cost to complete the LRIP and NTE aircraft, as well as the outcome of ongoing discussions with our suppliers and our customer. If our estimated cost to complete the aircraft changes or our assumptions regarding contract performance, quantities, supplier negotiations, or funding to mitigate the impact of macroeconomic disruptions are resolved more or less favorably than what we have estimated, our financial position, results of operations and/or cash flows could be materially affected.

B-21 LRIP Lot 3, and Lot 5 advanced procurement, are expected to be awarded in Q4.

Kathy Warden- Northrop Grumman Corp - Chair of the Board, President, Chief Executive Officer

Yes, Gavin, so the important takeaway here is that the Reconciliation bill now provides the funding for the expansion of production capacity for the B-21. And so we have entered into discussions. As I have alluded to before, we were already working with the Air Force on plans to accelerate production capacity. And now we are in discussions about how those funds will be used to make that happen.

The head of U.S. Air Force Global Strike Command (AFGSC) has recommended the placement of a weapon systems officer (WSO) in the cockpit of the Northrop Grumman B-21 Raider, according to an Aug. 15 memo obtained by Aviation Week.

The proposal, if adopted by Air Force headquarters, would change the crew composition in the two-seat bombers, leaving only one officer with a pilot rating onboard at a time when bomber missions sometimes last 36 hr. or longer with multiple inflight refuelings.

“Air Force Global Strike Command has provided their recommendation regarding the B-21 crew composition to the Headquarters. That document is pre-decisional. A decision has not been made,” Lt. Gen. Scott Pleus, acting vice chief of staff, tells Aviation Week.

The Air Force provided no timeline for making the decision.

Gen. Thomas Bussiere, who steps down as AFGSC chief on Nov. 4, submitted the recommendation more than two months ago, saying the nature of the B-21’s mission in the future requires the presence of a WSO inside the two-seat flight deck.

“Unleashing the Raider’s full potential demands a complex blend of skills: airmanship, weaponeering, electromagnetic spectrum operations, sensor management, real-time battle management and agile replanning in combat,” Bussiere wrote in the Aug. 15 memo, which was addressed to the offices of the Air Force secretary, chief of staff and the commander of U.S. Strategic Command.

“For this reason, the B-21 will be crewed by one pilot and one weapon systems officer,” Bussiere wrote.

The memo did not appear to be cast as a policy recommendation, but rather adopted a tone of expressing a final decision by the operating command for the B-21.

Missions such as Operation Midnight Hammer, which struck Iran’s nuclear weapons facilities in June, highlighted the length of bomber missions, with roundtrip flights from the B-2’s operating base in Missouri lasting 37 hr.

In his recommendation, Bussiere, a former B-1B and B-2 pilot, noted the extreme dangers posed by future B-21 missions.

“The future of airpower will be defined by the ability to project power into the most heavily defended airspace on Earth,” Bussiere wrote.

Bussiere’s proposed approach follows the cockpit philosophy of tactical aircraft, such as the Boeing F-15E, where WSOs are trained to fly the aircraft in emergency situations while spending the rest of the time focused on operating the aircraft’s mission systems. In a two-seat aircraft such as the B-21, the WSO also would likely be trained to fly the aircraft in certain scenarios. For example, the WSO would likely be able to land the aircraft if the pilot is incapacitated or injured.