America's new game-changing stealth bomber has entered production

The US Air Force's new game-changing stealth bomber the B-21 Raider has been pushed into production following its first flight according to a report from Breaking Defense. Here's what we know about the weapon and how it will transform American capabilities.

The B-21 took its first test flight in November 2023 and the independent photographer Matt Hartman was there to capture what may become one of the first iconic videos of what is sure to be one of the country's most iconic new weapons of war.

Photo Credit: Twitter @ShorealoneFilms

“Flight testing is a critical step in the test campaign managed by the Air Force Test Center and 412th Test Wing’s B-21 Combined Test Force to provide survivable, long-range, penetrating strike capabilities to deter aggression and strategic attacks against the United States, allies, and partners.” Air Force spokesperson Ann Stefanek told Breaking Defense.

Photo Credit: Wiki Commons By Tech. Sgt. William OBrien, 94th Airlift Wing

Stefanek added that the B-21 program was "on track to deliver aircraft to Ellsworth AFB in the mid-2020s." However, recent reporting has revealed that the B-21 Raider has already entered production following its first test flight.

Photo Credit: Wiki Commons By Staff Sgt. Jeremy Mosier, United States Air Force

“Production of the B-21 ‘Raider’ stealth bomber is moving forward. This past fall, based on the results of ground and flight tests and the team’s mature plans for manufacturing, I gave the go-ahead to begin producing B-21s at a low rate,” William LaPlante, the US Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition & Sustainment explained in a statement.

Photo Credit: Wiki Commons By Staff Sgt. Jeremy Mosier, United States Air Force

“One of the key attributes of this program has been designing for production from the start — and at scale — to provide a credible deterrent to adversaries. If you don’t produce and field to warfighters at scale, the capability doesn’t really matter,” LaPlante added according to Breaking Defense. But what do we know about this new weapon and what can it do?

In December 2022, the United States Air Force in partnership with Northrop Grumman revealed America's next-generation Long Range Strike Bomber, the B-21 Raider, an aircraft that was already revolutionizing air warfare at the time it was unveiled.

Photo Credit: Wiki Commons by Tech. Sgt. William OBrien, 94th Airlift Wing photographer

The United States Air Force quietly revealed their newest sixth-generation stealth bomber on December 2nd, sparking fierce debate about how the B-21 Raider will change the global strategic situation. 

Photo Credit: Alan Radecki, US Government Employee for public use

Named in honor of the airmen who carried out the surprise Doolittle Raid against Imperial Japan during the Second World War, the aircraft was designed to “penetrate the toughest defense for precision strikes anywhere in the world,” according to Northop Grumman, the arms firm behind the new bomber. 

This new generation of stealth bombers was the first of its kind in over 30 years with a planned fleet of more than 100 aircraft once manufacturing kicks into high gear.

Photo Credit: Alan Radecki, US Government Employee for public use

The B-21’s unveiling came at a time when tensions between the United States and its main adversaries—Russia and China—are on the rise. 

At the end of November 2022, Pentagon officials released their annual report on China and revealed that the Communist Party of China is quickly expanding its stockpiles of nuclear warheads in order to match The United States and Russia. 

The report noted that by 2035, China could have over 1500 nuclear warheads in its stockpile if they continue producing at their current rate. 

“What we’ve seen really in the past couple of years is this accelerated expansion,” said a senior defense official. When asked by CNN's Oren Liebermann about the situation.

It would seem that the unveiling of America’s new stealth bomber was a coordinated effort meant to send a message about the country’s new aerial capabilities. 

The B-21 Raider was designed to replace America’s aging B-1 Lancer and B-2 Spirit fleets which have operated at the backbone of the US Air Force bomber fleet since the mid-1970s. 

Unlike its predecessor, the B-2 Spirit, the B-21 Raider was designed to be both cheap to buy and maintain while offering a better fit within the United States’ new modern war strategies. 

"What the Air Force, and the US military as a whole, have been working to build is a powerful, distributed network of long-range sensors and strike platforms that transmit and share vast amounts of data about the enemy they are fighting,” wrote journalist Alex Gatopoulos.

The B-21 Raider fits perfectly into this new model of war. It is not a particularly fast plane, flying at subsonic speeds, integrating American satellite and radar information remarkably—giving the plane an edge on the battlefield. 

Gatopolous noted that the B-21 can “absorb information at a far greater rate than its rivals – meaning it will know where the enemy is and where its own assets are – fitting into a vast framework of deadly platforms that will be able to destroy their targets from a long way off.”

More importantly, however, the B-21 can be flown manned or unmanned, depending on the cockpit configuration, which has made it a more viable option for performing dangerous missions. 

The B-21 Raider program is reported to have cost American taxpayers roughly $25.1 billion dollars since it began in 2010 and can carry both nuclear and conventional warheads.