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By Ellie Cook
Senior Defense Reporter
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The B-21 long-range aircraft successfully completed a new weapons test, according to the U.S. Air Force (USAF), just months before the first next-generation stealth bombers are due to arrive on the tarmac.
The USAF said on Friday a B-21 Raider test aircraft had taken off from Edwards Air Force Base in California the previous week, before releasing a conventional weapon.
It's not clear what type of weapon was used, and Newsweek has reached out to the Pentagon for comment via email.
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The B-21's main contractor, Northrop Grumman, said the trial was a "major step forward for America’s next-generation bomber" while Air Force Chief of Staff General Ken Wilsbach described the B-21 program as "excelling."
"We are building an impressive fleet that will give our joint force credible, penetrating strike options for decades to come," Wilsbach said in a statement.
The B-21 Raider will be phased in to replace the current U.S. B-1B Lancer and B-2 Spirit bomber fleet in the next few years. The Northrop Grumman-designed aircraft was first unveiled in late 2022 and completed its first flight the following year.
The USAF plans to buy at least 100 B-21s, which will be able to carry both conventional bombs and nuclear weapons. The B-2 is a crucial part of the U.S.'s so-called nuclear triad of land-, sea- and air-based strategic nuclear weapons.
The B-21 is expected to launch the AGM-181 Long Range Stand Off Weapon (LRSO), a nuclear-capable cruise missile developed by Raytheon, and be able to drop B61-12 gravity bombs. The U.S. has an estimated 200 B-61 bombs, with roughly half deployed at multiple bases across Europe.
The LRSO is scheduled to take the place of the AGM-86B missile by late 2030.
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The B-21 weapons' test "demonstrates our ability to adapt rapidly and hold any target at risk if deterrence fails," said Air Force Secretary Troy Meink.
The bomber "is another step closer to giving the U.S. unrivaled deterrence," top Northrop Grumman aeronautics executive, Tom Jones, said in a press release published by the company.
The first B-21s are set to arrive at Ellsworth Air Force Base in South Dakota next year, making the base the advanced bomber's first operational hub. The USAF also greenlit housing future B-21s at Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri and Dyess Air Force Base, Texas.
The U.S. military describes the B-21 as a sixth-generation bomber, referring to the upcoming class of more sophisticated, drone-focused aircraft.
Fifth-generation aircraft, like the U.S. F-35s and F-22s, are the most advanced currently in service.
But sixth-generation aircraft will be the next leap—and will likely be the most expensive raft of aircraft ever built.
In 2010, officials estimated each B-21 would cost $550 million. By late 2022, the inflation-adjusted price had crept up to just under $700 million.
These hard-to-detect aircraft will have much cheaper drones swirling around them, able to handle the most dangerous tasks while keeping the human pilots and the costly manned jets further out of harm's way.
The U.S. has two sixth-generation fighter jet programs in the works beyond its bomber development; the USAF's F-47 and the U.S. Navy's version, currently known as F/A-XX.
Meanwhile, the Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP)—the U.K.'s joint venture with Italy and Japan—has attracted Canadian attention and piqued the interest of countries like Saudi Arabia and Germany after a separate European sixth-generation initiative, dubbed FCAS, collapsed in June.
The B-21 design is similar to the appearance of the B-2, but the newer bomber will be slightly smaller, according to congressional research.
It's named after the U.S. Doolittle Raiders, who took off in long-range bombers from an American aircraft carrier in the Pacific to fly more than 650 miles and catch Japan off-guard with attacks during World War II. Planning for the operation started shortly after Japanese forces attacked Pearl Harbor in December 1941.
Lloyd Austin, the former Secretary of Defense under then-President Joe Biden, said in December 2022 the U.S. pilots had showcased "the strength and the reach of American air power."
The air force announced in February Northrop Grumman would increase how many B-21s it can manufacture each year by 25 percent. Specialist media had reported between 7 and 8 B-21s were likely to be produced each year.
Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Tobias Meyjes and Trevor Davies.
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