The B-21 Raider has released a weapon for the first time as testing of the bomber continues to expand in scale and scope. This is a new and significant step forward for the B-21, which the U.S. Air Force hopes will begin its operational service in 2027.
The Air Force and Northrop Grumman announced the start of B-21 weapons testing in separate press releases.
“During the test, a B-21 test aircraft flying from Edwards Air Force Base, California, released a conventional weapon, validating its digital models and the maturity of its open systems architecture,” according to the Air Force. “This test proves the B-21’s strike capability, proves its ability to rapidly onboard new weapons and solidifies its role as the future backbone of the U.S. bomber fleet.”
The Air Force’s release does not name the munition in question or provide any more context about the release. The B-21 is intended to carry a wide variety of conventional and nuclear munitions. The still-in-development AGM-181A Long Range Stand-Off (LRSO) nuclear-armed cruise missile is set to be a particularly key part of the Raider’s arsenal.
At the time of writing, no images of the bomber actually dropping anything have been released. From what has been seen previously, the B-21 looks to have a single large central weapons bay compared to the two side-by-side bays on the existing B-2 Spirit. The possibility has been raised in the past that the Raider could also have smaller secondary bays, but visual evidence to date doesn’t point conclusively to this being the case.
As the B-21 is also smaller than the B-2, the Raider has a lower gross payload capacity by tonnage. How much less remains unclear. Satellite imagery recently confirmed that the B-21 is nowhere near as diminutive compared to the B-2 as many had previously estimated.
“The execution of the test was built on thousands of hours of virtual modeling within the B-21’s digital twin environment,” the Air Force’s release adds. “This allowed the B-21 Combined Test Force to accelerate weapons integration and predict and refine the weapon’s trajectory with unparalleled precision before the aircraft ever left the ground.”
The Air Force is currently known to have two flying pre-production Raiders out of a planned test force of six aircraft. The service has said in the past that it plans to acquire at least 100 B-21s, but a new target fleet size figure is expected to be released next year. The Air Force and Northrop Grumman announced plans to accelerate production of the bombers earlier this year.
It is interesting to note that the B-2 first flew in 1989 and conducted its first weapons release in 1992, which is similar to the timeline we’ve now seen with the B-21. However, the B-2 did not reach initial operational capability (IOC) until 1997.
While it seems relatively late in the process in relation to the scheduled fielding of the aircraft set to come next year for the B-21 to just start weapons testing now, the Raider’s development was always going to be different. Much of this is attributed to digital engineering and having the first aircraft highly representative of production models. Still, with just two aircraft in the air, moving from first weapons release to IOC within a year is clearly an aggressive ask.
“This weapons test proves the B-21 program is excelling,” Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Ken Wilsbach said in a statement today. “We are building an impressive fleet that will give our joint force credible, penetrating strike options for decades to come.”
The Air Force, as well as members of Congress, have consistently described the B-21 program as a model acquisition effort in terms of staying on schedule and on budget, despite hurdles in the past. The testing regime has been steadily expanding since the Raider first flew in 2023. Tests over the past year have been increasingly geared toward validating key operational capabilities, including the aircraft’s ability to refuel in-flight.
“The B-21 is proving in test what it promised on paper: it’s the most advanced bomber in the fleet, and it behaves more like a modern fighter than a legacy bomber when it comes to maintenance turnaround times and cost per flying hour,” Northrop Grumman says in its press release today. “The B-21 is setting new benchmarks in materiel reliability, weapons loading and rapid data collection – all strong indicators it’s on track to be a true daily flyer.”
“Northrop Grumman has already completed lifetimes of fatigue testing months ahead of schedule, further validating the strength and resilience of the B-21’s design,” the company’s release adds. “On the flight line, the combined test team is pushing a robust tempo in alignment with the Department of War’s call to operate on solid wartime footing. Each sortie adds to a growing body of data and confidence, moving the B-21 one step closer to joining the operational fleet.”
Air Force officials have also settled on how the B-21 will be crewed during operational missions, with two pilots in the cockpit. The service announced in June that an operational test pilot, rather than a developmental one, had flown a Raider for the first time.
“The B-21 Raider offers exceptional payload flexibility, giving commanders the ability to tailor weapon loadouts to a wide range of mission requirements, from long-range strikes to operations in heavily defended airspace,” Northrop Grumman also notes in its release. “B-21 is also adaptable by design, allowing new weapons and capabilities to be integrated over time, keeping it ahead of evolving threats and maintaining its role as a pacing sixth-generation system.”
It is worth noting here that the Air Force has described the B-21 as also having multi-mission capabilities that go beyond air-to-ground/surface strike. The service confirmed last month that this could potentially extend into the air-to-air combat arena. The expectation that the Raider would be much more than just a bomber is something TWZ had been highlighting for years before the aircraft was even unveiled.
More about the Air Force’s plans for employing its B-21 fleet could well continue to emerge as the service gets closer to fielding the Raider. The groundwork is already being laid for the scheduled arrival of the first operational B-21s at Ellsworth Air Force Base in South Dakota next year.
“The B-21 is designed to deliver improved combat capability to the warfighter, combining reliability and maintainability to quickly integrate new weapons,” Secretary of the Air Force Troy Meink said in a statement today. “This successful test demonstrates our ability to adapt rapidly and hold any target at risk if deterrence fails.”
Contact the author: joe@twz.com
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