Air Force outlines B-21 Raider aircraft reveal

The U.S. Air Force announced plans to reveal the B-21 Raider in December during an unveiling ceremony hosted and sponsored by the Northrop Grumman Corporation.

The ceremony at Northrop Grumman’s production facilities in Palmdale, Calif., in the first week of December, will highlight the stealth bomber slated to incrementally replace the B-1 and B-2 bombers and become the Air Force bomber fleet foundation.

“The unveiling of the B-21 Raider will be a historic moment for our Air Force and the nation,” Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. CQ Brown, Jr. said. “We last introduced a new bomber over 30 years ago. As we look to the threats posed by our pacing challenge, we must continue to rapidly modernize. The B-21 Raider will provide formidable combat capability across a range of operations in highly contested environments of the future.”

After the unveiling, the B-21 program will continue its testing campaign with professionals from the Air Force Test Center, Air Force Operational Test and Evaluation Center, and Northrop Grumman.

“The B-21 program is a powerful example of America’s long experience with fielding advanced military technology through an innovative, adaptable, and efficient defense industrial base,” said Andrew Hunter, assistant secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics. “The Air Force made the decision early in the life of the program to make the flight test aircraft production representative, which is paying dividends as we look towards first flight.”