The USAF and Northrop Grumman agreed to boost B‑21 production capacity by about 25% using roughly $4.5 billion in already-authorized U.S. funding. This expansion is intended to compress delivery timelines and speed up fielding without undermining cost or performance discipline.
The bomber is currently in low-rate initial production, with final assembly underway at Northrop Grumman’s Palmdale, California facility. Multiple aircraft are undergoing production and test activity.
According to recent official releases, the **first operational B‑21 Raider remains on track to arrive at Ellsworth Air Force Base in South Dakota in 2027, supporting the Air Force’s plan to begin fielding the next-generation stealth bomber that year.
Unlike legacy bomber programs, the B-21 was designed from the outset with digital engineering, modular sustainment, and production scalability in mind.
The Air Force intends the B-21 to replace the B-1 Lancer and the B-2 Spirit by 2040, and potentially the B-52 Stratofortress thereafter.
Currently in flight testing, this long-range penetrating strike aircraft is designed to operate in the most contested environments and to hold any target at risk. The B-21 integrates advanced stealth, resilient networking, and a modern, data-driven command-and-control architecture, ensuring the Joint Force retains a decisive advantage on an increasingly complex battlefield.
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