{"id":63257,"date":"2022-11-28T14:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-11-28T14:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2022\/11\/28\/northrops-b-21-is-almost-here-whats-next-for-the-stealthy-bomber\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T00:45:57","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T00:45:57","slug":"northrops-b-21-is-almost-here-whats-next-for-the-stealthy-bomber","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/industry\/techwatch\/2022\/11\/28\/northrops-b-21-is-almost-here-whats-next-for-the-stealthy-bomber\/","title":{"rendered":"Northrop\u2019s B-21 is almost here. What\u2019s next for the stealthy bomber?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">WASHINGTON \u2014 The Dec. 2 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/air\/2022\/10\/20\/coming-soon-the-official-rollout-of-the-secretive-b-21\/\" target=\"_blank\">rollout of the B-21 Raider<\/a> will mark the world\u2019s first glimpse at a bomber that manufacturer Northrop Grumman and the U.S. Air Force see as a generational leap in aircraft technology and development.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The B-21 \u2014 the Air Force\u2019s first new bomber in more than three decades \u2014 will be advanced enough to qualify as a sixth-generation aircraft, Tom Jones, president of Northrop Grumman\u2019s Aeronautics Systems unit, said in a Nov. 22 interview with Defense News.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The technology used in the B-21\u2032s testing \u2014 and the Air Force\u2019s decision to conduct its flight tests with a production-representative aircraft instead of an experimental model \u2014 could provide a path forward for more rapid, less risky aircraft acquisitions in the future, Jones added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He explained that the B-21\u2032s advancements in stealth capabilities, use of open-systems architecture, and inclusion of Joint All-Domain Command and Control technologies to share data across platforms will make it \u201cthe first of the sixth-gen systems.\u201d JADC2 is the Pentagon\u2019s effort to connect sensors to shooters across domains of warfare.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">On Dec. 2, we\u2019ll unveil the world\u2019s first sixth-generation aircraft. Stay tuned for your first look at the B-21 Raider.  <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/y5TJ8wOkY8\">https:\/\/t.co\/y5TJ8wOkY8<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/SEWbsmVZR3\">pic.twitter.com\/SEWbsmVZR3<\/a><\/p>&mdash; Northrop Grumman (@northropgrumman) <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/northropgrumman\/status\/1583096331853533184?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">October 20, 2022<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.x.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The debut of this B-21 \u2014 numbered 001 and referred to as T1, for the first flight test aircraft \u2014 at Air Force Plant 42 in Palmdale, California, will mark the beginning of a major phase in the bomber\u2019s development. Since the spring, Northrop Grumman has continued with the first bomber\u2019s testing, final assembly, and application of coatings and paint to get it ready for the public.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Jones said that over the next few months, the first B-21 will undergo additional testing to ensure it\u2019s ready for its first flight. That\u2019s to include powering systems on and off, running its engines, performing taxiing test runs, and other standard integration tests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/air\/2022\/05\/25\/b-21-first-flight-to-come-in-2023\/\" target=\"_blank\">first flight of the B-21<\/a> will be to Edwards Air Force Base in California, where further flight tests will take place. The date of that flight is not yet scheduled; Northrop said a date will be based on the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/industry\/techwatch\/2022\/03\/04\/first-b-21-bomber-enters-ground-testing-on-track-for-first-flight\/\" target=\"_blank\">results of the ground tests<\/a> but does expect it to take place sometime in 2023, a few months after the rollout.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Jones hopes the B-21 model of using a production representative aircraft \u2014 one that is essentially identical to the eventual production aircraft \u2014 for test flights will pave the way for faster acquisitions in the future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In an October announcement about the B-21 rollout, Air Force acquisition chief Andrew Hunter touted the Air Force\u2019s decision early on to make the flight-test aircraft production representative, saying that it \u201cis paying dividends as we look towards first flight.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Usually, Jones said, most new aircraft programs have their first flight conducted by a nonproduction-representative aircraft. This can mean lengthy testing periods are required before a program gets to something that is production representative, he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But testing with an aircraft that is extremely close to the final production version, and built on the same production line, will speed up the process, he said. \u201cMy hope is that we see a lot of future acquisitions go that way,\u201d Jones explained. \u201cIt cuts down time, and [when] you listen to [Air Force] Secretary [Frank] Kendall or other service chiefs, it\u2019s all about speed and getting capabilities to the field.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Jones also pointed to Northrop\u2019s use of digital testing as a way to \u201cburn down risk\u201d and find potential problems with the B-21 in a virtual environment. By conducting virtual tests, he added, the company was able to catch and fix problems before they reached the real world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For example, he said, the real-world loads calibration tests that Northrop completed in May correlated closely with the digital models it previously conducted. And company engineers used flight simulators and digital environments to fine-tune the Raider\u2019s windscreen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So far, there are still six B-21s in various stages of development, including the first flight test aircraft. The second complete B-21 is dubbed G1; it will be a ground test aircraft.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Northrop would not say when work on the seventh B-21 will begin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The unveiling of the B-21 on Friday will be the \u201cgrand finale of the day,\u201d Northrop Grumman spokeswoman Katherine Thompson said. The rollout will also include an \u201cadvancing aeronautics expo\u201d that features multiple aircraft, including a B-25 Mitchell \u2014 the same type of bomber flown by the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nationalmuseum.af.mil\/Visit\/Museum-Exhibits\/Fact-Sheets\/Display\/Article\/196211\/doolittle-raid\/\" target=\"_blank\">Doolittle Raiders<\/a>, for whom the B-21 is named.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Northrop Grumman has touted the B-21 Raider bomber as &#8220;the world&#8217;s first sixth-generation aircraft.&#8221;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":43115,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":49,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":{"2":{"categories":["your-military","news","left-column","home"],"primary_category":"your-military"},"4":{"categories":["your-air-force","news","left-column","home","daily-news-roundup","newsletters"],"primary_category":"your-air-force"}}},"categories":[7,160,12,49,36],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3412],"class_list":["post-63257","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-air","category-daily-news-roundup","category-industry","category-techwatch","category-newsletters"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"ZP3DZ7VXDFBYPJXDBKPLM2JO5M","arc_canonical_url":"\/industry\/techwatch\/2022\/11\/28\/northrops-b-21-is-almost-here-whats-next-for-the-stealthy-bomber\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Northrop\u2019s B-21 is almost here. What\u2019s next for the stealthy bomber? - Defense News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Northrop Grumman has touted the B-21 Raider bomber as &quot;the world&#039;s first sixth-generation aircraft.&quot;\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Northrop\u2019s B-21 is almost here. 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