The Northrop Grumman B-21 Raider is a heavy bomber under develoment as an advanced long range, heavy payload stealth intercontinental strategic bomber for the USAF. It is expected to begin entering service by 2025 as a supplement to existing B-1, B-2 and B-52 bombers. It will begin replacing B-1 Lancer and B-2 Spirit bombers, with the B-52 still remaining in service. This means that the B-52 could end up serving for over 100 years.
The B-21 program initially began as the Next-Generation Bomber (NGB) program, which called for the development of a new medium bomber for the USAF. It was initially expected to enter service around 2018 as a stealthy supplement or replacement for the B-52 and the B-1. However, the NGB program was superceded by the Long Range Strike Bomber (LRS-B) heavy bomber program for a heavy payload stealth aircraft, with initial deploment planned for the mid-2020s. A request for proposal to develop the aircraft was issued in July of 2014, with the expectation that the USAF would order at least 100 of the LRS-B aircraft, and perhaps as many as 200 eventually being ordered. Initial operating capability is expected to be reached by 2030.
A development contract was awarded to Northrop Grumman in October of 2015. Ordinarily, the designatilon of the LRS-B would have been B-3 (the next number available in the new USAF bomber series), but In 2016, the LRS-B was formally designated B-21, signifying the aircraft as the 21st century's first bomber. In September 2016 the B-21 was formally named "Raider", in honor of the Doolittle Raiders of World War II. The B-21 is expected to fly for the first time sometime in 2022.
The B-21 program is highly classified, and few details are available. The few drawings that have been released show the B-21 to look a lot like the B-2 Spirit. It will carry a crew of two, although it has been reported that the B-21 will be capable of carrying out unmanned missions. The B-21 features flush and blended air intakes and a two-wheel main landing gear design, which may indicate the smaller size and weight of the aircraft in comparison to the B-2. It also has a simpler trailing edge than the B-2, with only two notches rather than 4 for the B-2. The engines will be the same Pratt and Whitney F135 engines that are used on the F-35 fighter.
The first B-21 Raider was rolled out December 2, 2022 at Air Force Plant 42 at Palmdale, CA. As expected, it looked a lot like the B-2. Six Raiders are in production. The Air Force plans to build 100 that can deploy either nuclear weapons or conventional bombs and can be used with or without a human crew.
Sources:
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Northrop Grumman B-21 Raider, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northrop_Grumman_B-21_Raider.
- E-mail from Vahe Demirjian on rollout of B-21.
