B-21 artist concept released
The Air Force and Northrop Grumman have released a new artist concept of the B-21 Raider bomber, under development at the aerospace giant’s Palmdale site.
The new drawings of the classified program, which show the bomber on the ground against backdrops of the bases where they will eventually be housed, have aviation sleuths scouting for changes in the design, compared to the existing B-2 bomber, which it closely resembles.
Previously, the only artist concept of the new bomber design showed it in flight, sporting the familiar batwing, tailless silhouette of its predecessor.
The images were released Jan. 31 and the Air Force offered no comment on the drawings and has not said if they have concealed details of the design, according to Air Force Magazine.
The new bomber, which could make its first flight in
late 2021 and is expected to enter service in the mid2020s, will be a stealthy successor to the B-2.
The Air Force has ordered 100 B-21s.
In September, the Air Force confirmed what had been widely believed for years, that the B-21 is being manufactured at Northrop Grumman’s facility at Air Force Plant 42 in Palmdale.
Acting Air Force Secretary Matthew Donovan, speaking to the Air Force Association’s Air, Space and Cyber Conference in Maryland at the time, said “the development of the B-21 Raider is on schedule and the first test aircraft is under production at the same production facility in Palmdale as its predecessor, the B-2. The first flight of the Raider will take it from Palmdale to Edwards AFB, where the legacy of excellence will continue with the reactivation of the 420th Flight Test Squadron.”
Since the Air Force awarded the contract for the top secret bomber to Northrop Grumman in 2015, local officials have said the aircraft would be produced here, but there had never been confirmation from Air Force or Northrop Grumman as to the production site.
The Air Force announced last year, the bomber will be based at three main operating bases: Ellsworth AFB in South Dakota, Whiteman AFB in Missouri and Dyess, AFB in Texas.
Whiteman AFB is the current home of the B-2 fleet.