B-21 Raider Has Released Its First Weapon
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.”
A stock picture of a pre-production B-21 Raider bomber during a past flight test. USAF
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.
A view of the underside of a pre-production B-21 with the single main bay clearly visible. Jarod Hamilton
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.
A picture showing the first two pre-production B-21s together at Edwards Air Force Base. USAF
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 have only just started 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.
A look at a B-21 from above during an aerial refueling test. USAF
“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.
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