The United States Air Force
has released the first video of the Northrop Grumman B-21 Raider
in flight for the first time (previously, just still images had been publicly released). The video shows a B-21 flying and landing at Edwards Air Force Base in California. The release comes as the Air Force has announced

the second and third air force bases from which the B-21 Raiders will operate
.

B-21 Raider seen flying for the first time

The Air Force has released a video showing the B-21 Raider in flight for the first time. The B-21 Raider largely remains on schedule and on budget and is billed as part of the “free world’s only bomber force.” It is expected to come into service in the later 2020s and then replace the aging fleet of B-1 Lancer supersonic strategic bombers.

“A B-21 Raider conducts flight testing, which includes ground testing, taxiing, and flying operations in California. Flight testing is a critical step in the test campaign managed by the Air Force Test Center and 412th Test Wing’s B-21 Combined Test Force (CTF) to provide survivable, long-range, penetrating strike capabilities to deter aggression and strategic attacks against the United States, allies, and partners.” – DVIDS

The DVIDS goes on to say that the B-21 will be the backbone of the service’s future bomber force and “will possess the range, access, and payload to penetrate the most highly-contested threat environments and hold any target around the globe at risk.”

Northrop+Grumman's+B-21+Raider+Continues+Its+Flight+Test+Campaign (1) - B-21 Raider in flight

Photo: Northrop Grumman

According to Tom Jones, the president of Northrop’s Aeronautical Systems, who spoke on Wednesday at the Air & Space Force Association’s annual Air, Space & Cyber Conference, three aircraft “in various configurations” are now in flight tests. Northrop has also started to produce production aircraft (it was greenlit to start low-rate initial production after its first flight last November).

B-21 Raider: the world’s first “sixth-gen” combat aircraft

Northrop Grumman claims the B-21 Raider is the world’s first sixth-generation aircraft and while it may look similar to the B-2 Spirit stealth bomber, it incorporates several decades of development. Northrop boasts, “The B-21 Raider will be capable of penetrating the toughest defenses to deliver precision strikes anywhere in the world. The B-21 is the future of deterrence and the world’s first sixth-generation aircraft to reach the skies.”

USAF B-21 Raider in first flight

Photo: U.S. Air Force

The B-21 Raider is expected to serve alongside the B-2 Spirit for many years (the

Air Force has awarded Northrop Grumman a massive $7 billion midlife upgrade
contract for the remaining 19 B-2 Spirits – suggesting they will continue to serve for many years to come). By the 2040s, the Air Force is expected to operate around 100 B-21 Raiders as well as

ancient B-52 Stratofortresses (also currently being upgraded from the B-52H to B-52J)
.

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