US Air Force B-21 nuclear-capable stealth bomber enters ground testing phase

News, US March 7, 2022 , by IRIA No Comments

The Northrop Grumman’s B-21 Raider penetrating strike stealth bomber has entered the ground testing phase and is set to take its first flight this year.

Northrop Grumman’s Aeronautics Systems President Tom Jones said “With the first [B-21] test aircraft in formal ground test, software and hardware are coming together. The phase we’re in now will further prove out our design on our way to first flight.”

The U.S. Air Force nuclear-capable stealth bomber is now undergoing ground tests, as six of the next-generation aircraft are in various stages of production by Northrop Grumman, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics, Darlene Costello said.

“We are on track for first flight [and] we’re holding to our schedule,” Costello said in a statement during the Air Force Association’s Air Warfare Symposium in Florida.

U.S. Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall also said that so far, he is satisfied with the B-21 program’s progress. “At least at this stage of the game, the B-21′s moving forward really well,” Kendall said.

According to the Northrop Grumman release, the U.S. Air Force plans include at least 100 B-21 Raider bombers into its arsenal.

*^{Artist rendering of Northrop Grumman’s B-21 Stealth Bomber. (Image Credit: U.S. Air Force/Northrop Grumman)}*

After the initial tests of engine runs and low- and high-speed taxiing are completed formal flight tests of B-21 bombers will be conducted at Edwards Air Force Base in California.

According to the Northrop Grumman, the B-21 Raider bomber is a high-tech stealth bomber that will replace the U.S. Air Force’s aging B-1 Lancer and B-2 Spirit bomber fleet. The B-21 is a long-range, highly survivable bomber, capable of carrying both conventional and nuclear weapons.

The B-21 Raider bomber development program is led by the U.S. Department of the Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office. In 2015, defense firm Northrop Grumman was awarded the B-21 Engineering and Manufacturing Development contract by the U.S. Air Force. The company is working in collaboration with Pratt & Whitney, GKN Aerospace, Janicki Industries, BAE Systems, Collins Aerospace, and Spirit Aerosystems on the B-21 program.

In 2018, the Air Force conducted a comprehensive weapon systems test, design maturity, stability, risk evaluation. In 2021, the U.S. Air Force selected the Ellsworth Air Force Base in South Dakota as the main operating base and location of the Formal Training Unit for the B-21 bomber.