BREAKING: B-21 Raider Makes First Flight
The United States Air Force’s B-21 Raider made its first flight on Friday, with a prototype aircraft spotted taking off from Air Force Plant 42 in Palmdale, California. At the time of publication the US Air Force nor the Department of Defense have officially commented on the flight.
The Raider’s first flight was reported by eyewitnesses monitoring Plant 42, which is where manufacturer Northrop Grumman unveiled the stealthy bomber last December. Air Force officials that spoke to Air and Space Forces Magazine late last month told the magazine that the Air Force did not intend to make a media event out of the bomber’s first flight, with the first flight to take place as soon as the Raider could do so.
The Raider’s first flight follows the start of the strategic bomber’s taxi testing in October, with photographs captured earlier this month during the testing providing a look at the Raider’s rear. Northrop officials have indicated that the aircraft seen testing is “production representative”. At least six Raiders are known to be undergoing assembly at Northrop Grumman’s Plant 42 facility, which was previously the assembly facility for the Raider’s predecessor, the B-2 Spirit.
In photographs shared by photographer Matt Hartman, the Raider can be see wheels down and on its port wing a stylized ‘NG’ logo can be seen, a smaller version of the logo can bee seen in front of the aircraft’s nose gear too.
During Northrop’s third quarter earnings call on October 26, chief executive officer Kathy Warden said that the Raider’s first flight was a necessary milestone for the company to be awarded a low-rate initial production contract for the B-21. Northrop executive vice president and chief financial officer Dave Keffer added during the call that should the first flight take place, the LRIP contract was expected to be signed in the fourth quarter.
Warden said during the call that the company was expecting “zero profitability” on the fixed price LRIP contract due to the impact of inflation and increased labor costs. During previous investor calls, Warden has said that the B-21 program is only expected to become profitable once full scale production is underway.
The highly secretive B-21 program intends to eventually replace the U.S. Air Force’s B-1B Lancer and B-2A Spirit strategic bombers by the 2040s, with over 100 Raiders expected to be procured.