Usaf moving bombers to make way for next-gen b-21 raiders
B-21 News
Northrop Grumman’s B-21 Raider Continues Its Flight Test Campaign
May 23, 2024
Read more at Northrop Grumman
Northrop Grumman’s B-21 Raider Receives Aviation Week Grand Laureate Award
March 18, 2024
Northrop Grumman received the Aviation Week Grand Laureate Award in the defense category for its role as the prime contractor delivering the B-21 Raider to the United States Air Force. Aviation Week announced the Grand Laureate winners at its 66th Annual Laureate awards in Washington, D.C. on March 14, 2024.
Read more at Northrop Grumman
What You Need to Know About Northrop Grumman’s B-21 Raider
November 10, 2023
When it comes to delivering America’s resolve, the Raider will provide the Air Force with long range, high survivability and mission payload flexibility. The B-21 will penetrate the toughest defenses for precision strikes anywhere in the world. Here is what you need to know about Northrop Grumman’s B-21 Raider as it continues flight test.
Read more at Northrop Grumman
AFA Recap on B-21 Raider Program and Progress
September 18, 2023
At last week’s Air and Space Forces Association’s Air, Space and Cyber Conferen
To build a runway for the new stealth bomber, the Gas Force is moving 17 B-1s to a new base
The Wind Force is moving 800 airmen and 17 supersonic B-1 bombers from their South Dakota build for 10 months so construction crews can prepare the runway for the secretive B-21 Raider stealth bomber’s eventual arrival.
Crews with the 28th Bomb Wing at Ellsworth Air Force Base, outside Rapid City, have already moved at least one of the base’s B-1s to Grand Forks Air Force Base in North Dakota. The other 16 will be moved in the modern year, the Air Force said in a release, once the logistics and ground equipment are in place to service them.
Base officials said that the 800 personnel involved will be sent to Grand Forks on TDY trips, with aircrews, maintenance and other troops rotating back and forth between the two bases. Families will not move with crews.
Ellsworth will be the Breeze Force’s first to take delivery of the B-21 Raider, the next-generation stealth bomber currently undergoing flight testing at Edwards Gas Force Base, California.
“The runway construction at Ellsworth AFB is a key milestone in ensuring we’re ready to receive the B-21 Raider,” said Col. Derek Oak
Following the success of Operation Midnight Hammer, the US Air Force’s top officer has drawn attention to the rapid progress the US is making in developing the next-generation B-21 Raider stealth bombers, which will form the cornerstone of the US’s conventional strike force, as well as its nuclear triad, for many decades to come.
The US Air Force (USAF) hopes to see a second pre-production B-21 Raider stealth bomber take to the skies for test flights before the end of this year.
Separately, the USAF is also testing the AGM-181A Long-Range Standoff (LRSO) cruise missile, which will arm the B-21 Raiders, as well as the upgraded B-52H Stratofortress.
The updates on the highly classified programs were provided by Air Force Lt. Gen. Andrew Gebara, Deputy Chief of Staff for Strategic Deterrence and Nuclear Integration, during a virtual talk hosted by the Air & Space Forces Association’s Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies on August 27.
“I believe it will happen before the end of the year, but we’re not going to ever give them an artificial date that they have to make if it doesn’t bring the test program along to where they need to be. We
Northrop: USAF Weighs Buying More B-21 Bombers
Oct. 25, 2024 | By Greg Hadley
Audio of this article is brought to you by the Air & Space Forces Association, honoring and supporting our Airmen, Guardians, and their families. Find out more at afa.org
As the Air Force rethinks requirements for its Next-Generation Air Dominance fighter, it appears to be reconsidering the number of B-21 bombers it needs, as well.
“I think that’s exactly what the Air Force is looking at,” said Northrop Grumman CEO Kathy Warden, which makes the B-21 and is not competing for NGAD. “They are undertaking a force structure design review, and the Secretary has been open about looking at the various options they have for increasing their force size and has talked specifically about NGAD. And we know that B-21 is in the mix as well.”
Warden made her comments during an earnings call Oct. 24.
The Air Force is in the midst of a congressionally mandated force structure review and, at the same time, rushing to complete the NGAD requirements analysis ordered up after Secretary Frank Kendall paused NGAD ahead of a down-select decision on two competing designs this summer. NGAD has al
What You Need to Know About Northrop Grumman’s B-21 Raider
Benefitting from more than three decades of strike and stealth technology innovation, the B-21 is the next evolution of the U.S. Air Force strategic bomber fleet and the world’s first sixth-generation aircraft to reach the skies.
The B-21 Raider continues its flight test campaign at Edwards Air Force Base, California, led by a Combined Test Force (CTF) comprised of Northrop Grumman and Air Force personnel. CTF pilots indicate the jet is performing as expected with the aircraft flying like the simulator, reflecting the precision of the digital environment on B-21.
(Photo Credit: Northrop Grumman)
B-21 remains on track to meet its key performance parameter for Average Procurement Unit Cost (APUC) of $550 million in Base Year 2010 dollars. The government has fixed price production options for the first 21 aircraft. Final terms, quantity, and pricing beyond the first 21 aircraft are subject to negotiation. The government and Northrop Grumman have established not to exceed pricing for an additional 19 aircraft.
The average not to exceed value for the subsequent lots is above the average unit price of the five LRIP