The first B-21 Raider bomber took off from Air Force Plant 42 in Palmdale, Calif., just after dawn on Nov. 10, in a flight that concluded at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif, after 90 minutes, according to local observers. "This was a test flight," said ...
New images of the secretive B-21 bomber undergoing engine runs and taxi tests outside Northrop Grumman’s facilities in Palmdale, Calif., show vertical features that have industry experts scratching their heads regarding some prominent elements.
The first B-21 bomber is conducting taxi tests at Air Force Plant 42 in Palmdale, Calif., the service confirmed, meaning that first flight is likely fast approaching.
While the Air Force eagerly awaits the first flight of the B-21, there aren’t enough Raiders behind that first aircraft in the pipeline to do everything the nation needs the bomber fleet to do, a top analyst said Sept. 13 at AFA’s Air, Space & ...
Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr. unveiled new imagery of the secretive B-21 Raider during his keynote address at AFA’s Air, Space & Cyber conference on Sept. 12, the first glimpse of the stealthy bomber in months.
The Air Force is puzzled by House Armed Services Committe defense bill language that divides Collaborative Combat Aircraft into three categories and sets cost limits for each. Secretary Frank Kendall said the construct underlying the HASC language service is "not what we're doing," and the ...
The Air Force is keeping its B-1 bombers credible until their retirement with new pylons, new weapons, and the use of a real-world stress test aircraft and digital twins to predict fatigue problems and address vanishing vendor issues.
In another step toward first flight, the initial B-21 Raider has had its first “power-on” test, Northrop Grumman CEO Kathy Warden announced. The company still expects first flight—and a contract for low-rate initial production—by the end of 2023, she said in the company's second quarter ...
It’s come a few decades later than perhaps it should have, but the U.S. is on the precipice of sweeping and much-needed modernization for its nuclear arsenal, the Air Force's top boss for strategic forces said May 4. The Pentagon is projecting an investment of ...
Australia says it won’t buy the B-21 bomber, but Northrop Grumman CEO Kathy Warden said it may still be “on the table” when the program is more mature. Warden also reiterated that the new bomber will fly this year.
While Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall said he's “comfortable” with the amount of spending in the Air Force’s fiscal 2024 budget, Rep. Rob Wittman (R-V.) said it’s not big enough, arguing for funding that at least matches the rate of inflation.
The future U.S. bomber force could provide a way for the Pentagon to simultaneously deter conflict with peer adversaries in two geographically disparate theaters, said Mark Gunzinger, the director of future concepts and capability assessments at AFA's Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies, during a March ...