{"id":64250,"date":"2023-01-10T14:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-01-10T14:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2023\/01\/10\/building-a-better-bomber-how-the-stealthy-b-21-subverted-bureaucracy\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T00:38:13","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T00:38:13","slug":"building-a-better-bomber-how-the-stealthy-b-21-subverted-bureaucracy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/air\/2023\/01\/10\/building-a-better-bomber-how-the-stealthy-b-21-subverted-bureaucracy\/","title":{"rendered":"The B-21 stealth bomber\u2019s first mission: evading Pentagon red tape"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

WASHINGTON \u2014 Sen. John McCain was unhappy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Republican from Arizona summoned the Air Force\u2019s top leaders to appear before the Senate Armed Services Committee in early March 2016, a little more than four months after the service awarded Northrop Grumman a much-watched deal of undisclosed value to build the next stealth bomber<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the committee chairman at the time, McCain let then-Secretary Deborah Lee James and then-Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Welsh know in no uncertain terms he was displeased with the service\u2019s handling of several key aircraft programs. At one point, his tongue-lashing of Welsh over the A-10 aircraft grew so severe it went viral.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During that same hearing, McCain turned his attention to what would soon become the B-21 Raider<\/a>. He was frustrated over the service\u2019s acquisition strategy for the stealth bomber \u2014 particularly the way the Air Force had structured its contract \u2014 and the secrecy of the program\u2019s<\/a> classified budget.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m still not convinced that this program will not repeat the failures of past acquisition programs, such as [the] F-35,\u201d McCain said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Following a dramatic unveiling of the B-21 bomber<\/a> in California on Dec. 2, 2022, former Air Force leaders are holding a muted celebration. By moving from contract award to public rollout in seven years, they said in interviews with Defense News that they proved their acquisition strategy \u2014 despite McCain\u2019s criticism \u2014 worked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Then-Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James, right, greets Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., before a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing in 2016. (Scott M. Ash\/U.S. Air Force)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Better yet, they said, their unexpected approach might provide best practices for other major programs and serve as an antidote to the beleaguered development of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter in the 1990s and 2000s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Their secret? They learned how to limit bureaucracy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere were fewer checkers checking the checkers,\u201d James said. \u201cDon\u2019t ever underestimate the ability of the Pentagon bureaucracy and these many, many reviews to slow the doggone thing down.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most notably, officials point to the unusual move to put the Rapid Capabilities Office in charge of the B-21\u2032s development. That office had a narrowly focused team of skilled, experienced engineers and program managers, a board of directors to hash out key decisions and reviews, and an ability to cut through red tape, James said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Will Roper, who served as the Air Force\u2019s assistant secretary for acquisition, technology and logistics from 2018 to 2020, said there were plenty of program skeptics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNo one would have thought the B-21 would have finished on time, on cost,\u201d Roper said in an interview with Defense News. \u201cBut that\u2019s an amazing thing to say. It did not finish on time [and] on cost because there were no issues [and] no technical challenges; there were, there was just a more flexible process for dealing with them. And if you give smart people time to solve problems, statistically, they do.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Consider how the conversation around the B-21\u2032s acquisition had changed about five years after McCain\u2019s hearing, in April 2021, when House Armed Services Committee Chairman Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash., publicly praised it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Smith \u2014 like McCain, no light touch when it comes to troubled defense acquisitions \u2014 said at a think tank event that a briefing he had just attended on the program was \u201cone of the most positive, encouraging things\u201d he had recently seen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey learned the lessons from the F-35,\u201d Smith said. \u201cThey were actually on time, on budget. They\u2019re making it work in a very intelligent way.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Andrew Hunter, the Air Force\u2019s assistant secretary for acquisition, technology and logistics, said in a June interview with Bloomberg<\/a> that the B-21 was under budget, with cost estimates coming in below the $25.1 billion the service had projected.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even so, Dan Grazier, a military analyst for the watchdog group Project on Government Oversight, said it\u2019s too early for a victory lap. The first B-21, revealed at Air Force Plant 42 in Palmdale, had only gone through early ground tests and did little more at the rollout than get towed forward slightly for photographs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Northrop Grumman will conduct more in-depth ground testing of its Raider in the coming months before the bomber is deemed ready for its first flight to Edwards Air Force Base in California, expected in 2023, and then undergoes formal flight tests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s easy for people to make claims that the acquisition process worked well in the case of the B-21 at this point because it hasn\u2019t flown yet,\u201d Grazier said. \u201cWe\u2019re not really going to know that until it flies, for one, and then when it goes through operational testing. That\u2019s when we\u2019ll know if the acquisition process actually worked.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The warning of the B-2<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

As the Air Force started to work on developing the B-21, James said, officials kept the B-2 bomber in mind as something of a cautionary tale. Costs on the B-2 \u201cspiraled out of control\u201d during its development in the 1980s, she said, which led to the Spirit program getting considerably truncated. The Air Force ended up buying 21 B-2s, a fraction of the 132 it originally sought.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The service focused intensely on keeping the average per-unit cost of the B-21 at $550 million in 2010 dollars, which is now $692 million with inflation, James said. That kept Northrop\u2019s eye on holding costs down and not letting them balloon, she added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
A B-2 Spirit drops its bomb payload. (Northrop Grumman)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The B-21 is so classified, however, that nearly all budget figures are hidden. It\u2019s difficult to publicly track how well it is staying within its costs, aside from listening to occasional comments from lawmakers who were briefed on the program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

James noted the type of contract \u2014 a cost-plus incentive fee structure, with Northrop\u2019s incentives dependent on how well it stuck to cost and schedule \u2014 also helped, although it raised McCain\u2019s ire.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In that March 2016 hearing, James acknowledged other programs that used a cost-plus structure, including the F-22, F-35 and B-2, had serious cost and schedule slippages. But, she told McCain, the Air Force learned from those mistakes and designed the B-21 contract differently \u2014 for example, structuring the majority of the incentives toward the back end of the cost-plus phase, which she said would encourage Northrop to move quickly and efficiently.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

James and her successor, Heather Wilson, told Defense News that the Air Force\u2019s decision to have the Rapid Capabilities Office take charge of developing the B-21 was a critical step in its acquisition process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Air Force created the Rapid Capabilities Office in 2003 to quickly develop, acquire and field some of the service\u2019s highest-priority programs \u2014 many of which were classified, such as the X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle. The RCO is intended to take advantage of innovative approaches, \u201cwithout the rigidity of traditional acquisition,\u201d the Air Force said in an online fact sheet about the office.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The B-21 was a much larger program than the RCO typically managed, Wilson noted, but it worked. The office\u2019s team on the B-21 was unusually slim compared to other programs, and it included some of the Air Force\u2019s most experienced engineers and program managers. Most importantly, she said, they were trusted to use their judgment and go fast, without micromanagement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt was run very differently from other programs,\u201d Wilson said. \u201cYou get high performers in the [RCO] program office, and you don\u2019t crush their will to live with huge bureaucracies. \u2026 I think it\u2019s a good example of how to do major programs better.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wilson said the team was kept so small that Randy Walden, the RCO\u2019s program executive officer at the time, wanted the B-21\u2032s program management team to fit into no more than three vans when making regular visits to Plant 42.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Air Force declined Defense News\u2019 request to interview Walden and other officials on the acquisition process; Northrop Grumman also declined interview requests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The RCO reports directly to a board of directors consisting of top Air Force officials \u2014 including the service\u2019s secretary, chief of staff and top acquisition executive, allowing a more streamlined system of reviews, James said. By having top officials around the table at the same time, the oversight board could simultaneously conduct and approve milestones such as preliminary and critical design reviews.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For other programs, these reviews are considered sequentially, moving from one office to another. This, James explained, leads to the process taking months longer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe were all there together\u201d to hash out decisions on the B-21, she said. \u201cIt didn\u2019t require one review by the acquisition executive, and that guy maybe had some questions and changes, and a month or two would go by. And then it would go to the chief of staff, and he\u2019d have more changes and questions, and maybe four months would go [by], and then it would come to me. That eats up precious time when you do it that way.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Roper said having officials ranging from acquisition experts to fighter pilots in the same room doesn\u2019t just make the process quicker, but also more fruitful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere\u2019s not a single thing that I can do in the acquisition world, when I was the Air Force and Space Force weapons chief, that can be done in isolation from the warfighter\u2019s requirement, represented by [the former and current chiefs of staff] Gen. [Dave] Goldfein and Gen. [CQ] Brown in the room,\u201d Roper said. \u201cEverything you need is there. This allows faster collective decisions, much like a commercial company\u2019s board of directors.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. CQ Brown delivers remarks during a transition ceremony at Joint Base Andrews, Md., in 2020. (Eric Dietrich\/U.S. Air Force)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Wilson said other acquisition programs could benefit by following the example of the RCO\u2019s streamlined structure. When too many people are involved in a program, she added, it can be hard to come to a consensus and make a decision, move quickly, and build the right relationship with the contractor at the appropriate levels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The RCO reports directly to the secretary of the Air Force, which Wilson said allowed its leadership to enjoy virtually open-door access to her and other secretaries when key decisions needed to be made on the B-21.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere are not too many people who had walk-in rights to the secretary of the Air Force, but Randy Walden was one of them,\u201d Wilson said. \u201cAll he needed to do was call and say: \u2018I need five minutes.\u2019 \u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wilson described one instance, which she thinks occurred in 2018, when Walden visited her office to discuss a potential issue he had spotted early in the project\u2019s engineering phase.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Northrop Grumman had underbid to get the B-21 contract, Wilson said Walden told her. The contractor could make it work within those cost limits, he told Wilson. But the Air Force would be better off in the long run if it increased the budget and gave Northrop more time on the engineering and design phase to head off problems down the road, Wilson said Walden told her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was an unusual request, Wilson said, but she signed off on the increase. It was the right thing to do, she explained \u2014 not because Northrop wasn\u2019t performing properly, but because it would help the program over time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019d been there long enough to trust Randy Walden\u2019s judgment,\u201d Wilson said, adding that the anecdote is an example of how the RCO built a constructive working relationship with Northrop Grumman.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wilson declined to go into further detail on the change she approved for the B-21\u2032s budget, which is still highly classified.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018Most precarious\u2019 days ahead<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

James said the B-21\u2032s development process benefited from the decision to primarily rely on relatively mature technologies \u2014 such as avionics, some stealth tech and a variety of sensors \u2014 as opposed to creating key systems from the ground up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, she said, some sensors were developed in the \u201cblack,\u201d or classified world, though she would not offer more information due to the secrecy involved. That\u2019s not to say the technology going into the B-21 wasn\u2019t cutting edge, she added, or that no new technologies were made for the aircraft.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAlthough the airframe itself was new, the actual technologies that are the secret sauce of the B-21 were pretty mature at the time,\u201d James said. \u201cSo it became more of an integration situation than a completely brand new development of all these capabilities. Not to sneeze at integration challenges \u2014 that can be plenty hard \u2014 but it\u2019s easier than starting everything from scratch.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Air Force also kept the requirements for the B-21 stable. \u201cSo often these things get off track when requirements are constantly changing,\u201d James said. \u201cThe deal was, if anyone thinks they need to change a part of the requirements of the B-21, it\u2019s going to have to go up all the way to the top, to the chief of staff of the Air Force to make that case and get a change.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
The B-21 Raider was unveiled to the public at a ceremony on Dec. 2, 2022. (U.S. Air Force)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

James and Wilson noted the B-21 used open-systems architecture, building in from the start the ability to upgrade core systems over time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019re going to use what we have and get this [plane] up there,\u201d Wilson said. \u201cBut we are going to have a plug-and-play [setup]. And then as technology develops, we can incorporate new technologies into this airframe without being over the barrel with only one supplier.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But before a verdict on the B-21\u2032s success can be delivered, the aircraft most go through operational testing later this decade, according to Grazier of the Project on Government Oversight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMy primary concern in any acquisition program is how effective it is,\u201d he said. \u201cOnce it does start to fly and once it goes into operational testing, [it\u2019s] making sure that it not only meets its contract specifications, but that it\u2019s actually suitable and effective in the hands of actual warfighters.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And as more details of the program\u2019s costs emerge, it will be easier to see if those costs start to grow, he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf costs keep going up and up, you know that program is having a really hard time delivering the goods from a performance standpoint,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Todd Harrison, a defense budget expert and managing director of Metrea Strategic Insights, agreed that it\u2019s too soon to declare success for the B-21, noting that the program\u2019s most perilous days are still ahead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Because the program is so highly classified, Harrison told Defense News, it\u2019s unlikely the public will learn of problems, like the B-21 failing to meet certain criteria in tests. The biggest sign of potential problems, he said, will be schedule delays in the testing process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If the B-21\u2032s first flight, now slated for 2023, gets pushed back, he explained, that could be a sign something was uncovered in the ground testing process. Or if the first flight happens but a second flight does not for a long time, he said, that might show officials found something wrong the first time they took it up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is absolutely the most precarious part of an acquisition program, when they try to make the transition out of design into flight tests,\u201d Harrison said. \u201cThat\u2019s where you\u2019re likely to uncover unexpected performance issues. That\u2019s the whole point of testing.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

After a dramatic unveiling of Raider, former Air Force leaders are holding a muted celebration, having proved their acquisition strategy worked.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":117469,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"single-post-featured-layout","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":7,"_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":[7,160,11,36,19,38,48],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3412],"class_list":["post-64250","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-air","category-daily-news-roundup","category-global","category-newsletters","category-pentagon","category-special-reports","category-the-americas"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"E7FPCRNEARBHJPKNTRDSKKFG4E","arc_canonical_url":"\/air\/2023\/01\/10\/building-a-better-bomber-how-the-stealthy-b-21-subverted-bureaucracy\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"featured-layout","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"\nThe B-21 stealth bomber\u2019s first mission: evading Pentagon red tape - Defense News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"After a dramatic unveiling of Raider, former Air Force leaders are holding a muted celebration, having proved their acquisition strategy worked.\" \/>\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=\"The B-21 stealth bomber\u2019s first mission: evading Pentagon red tape\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"After a dramatic unveiling of Raider, former Air Force leaders are holding a muted celebration, having proved their acquisition strategy worked.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/air\/2023\/01\/10\/building-a-better-bomber-how-the-stealthy-b-21-subverted-bureaucracy\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Defense News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-01-10T14:00:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-08-08T00:38:13+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Stephen Losey\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Stephen Losey\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"13 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\n\t \"@context\": \"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\n\t \"@graph\": [\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"Article\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/air\\\/2023\\\/01\\\/10\\\/building-a-better-bomber-how-the-stealthy-b-21-subverted-bureaucracy\\\/#article\",\n\t \"isPartOf\": {\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/air\\\/2023\\\/01\\\/10\\\/building-a-better-bomber-how-the-stealthy-b-21-subverted-bureaucracy\\\/\"\n\t },\n\t \"author\": {\n\t \"name\": \"migration\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1\"\n\t },\n\t \"headline\": \"The B-21 stealth bomber\u2019s first mission: evading Pentagon red tape\",\n\t \"datePublished\": \"2023-01-10T14:00:00+00:00\",\n\t \"dateModified\": \"2026-08-08T00:38:13+00:00\",\n\t \"mainEntityOfPage\": {\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/air\\\/2023\\\/01\\\/10\\\/building-a-better-bomber-how-the-stealthy-b-21-subverted-bureaucracy\\\/\"\n\t },\n\t \"wordCount\": 2582,\n\t \"commentCount\": 0,\n\t \"publisher\": {\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#organization\"\n\t },\n\t \"image\": {\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/air\\\/2023\\\/01\\\/10\\\/building-a-better-bomber-how-the-stealthy-b-21-subverted-bureaucracy\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t },\n\t \"thumbnailUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/AP22337092059898.jpg.jpg\",\n\t \"articleSection\": [\n\t \"Air Warfare\",\n\t \"Daily News Roundup\",\n\t \"Global\",\n\t \"Newsletters\",\n\t \"Pentagon\",\n\t \"Special Reports & Exclusives\",\n\t \"The Americas\"\n\t ],\n\t \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t \"potentialAction\": [\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"CommentAction\",\n\t \"name\": \"Comment\",\n\t \"target\": [\n\t \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/air\\\/2023\\\/01\\\/10\\\/building-a-better-bomber-how-the-stealthy-b-21-subverted-bureaucracy\\\/#respond\"\n\t ]\n\t }\n\t ]\n\t },\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"WebPage\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/air\\\/2023\\\/01\\\/10\\\/building-a-better-bomber-how-the-stealthy-b-21-subverted-bureaucracy\\\/\",\n\t \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/air\\\/2023\\\/01\\\/10\\\/building-a-better-bomber-how-the-stealthy-b-21-subverted-bureaucracy\\\/\",\n\t \"name\": \"The B-21 stealth bomber\u2019s first mission: evading Pentagon red tape - Defense News\",\n\t \"isPartOf\": {\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#website\"\n\t },\n\t \"primaryImageOfPage\": {\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/air\\\/2023\\\/01\\\/10\\\/building-a-better-bomber-how-the-stealthy-b-21-subverted-bureaucracy\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t },\n\t \"image\": {\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/air\\\/2023\\\/01\\\/10\\\/building-a-better-bomber-how-the-stealthy-b-21-subverted-bureaucracy\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t },\n\t \"thumbnailUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/AP22337092059898.jpg.jpg\",\n\t \"datePublished\": \"2023-01-10T14:00:00+00:00\",\n\t \"dateModified\": \"2026-08-08T00:38:13+00:00\",\n\t \"description\": \"After a dramatic unveiling of Raider, former Air Force leaders are holding a muted celebration, having proved their acquisition strategy worked.\",\n\t \"breadcrumb\": {\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/air\\\/2023\\\/01\\\/10\\\/building-a-better-bomber-how-the-stealthy-b-21-subverted-bureaucracy\\\/#breadcrumb\"\n\t },\n\t \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t \"potentialAction\": [\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"ReadAction\",\n\t \"target\": [\n\t \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/air\\\/2023\\\/01\\\/10\\\/building-a-better-bomber-how-the-stealthy-b-21-subverted-bureaucracy\\\/\"\n\t ]\n\t }\n\t ]\n\t },\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/air\\\/2023\\\/01\\\/10\\\/building-a-better-bomber-how-the-stealthy-b-21-subverted-bureaucracy\\\/#primaryimage\",\n\t \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/AP22337092059898.jpg.jpg\",\n\t \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/AP22337092059898.jpg.jpg\"\n\t },\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"BreadcrumbList\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/air\\\/2023\\\/01\\\/10\\\/building-a-better-bomber-how-the-stealthy-b-21-subverted-bureaucracy\\\/#breadcrumb\",\n\t \"itemListElement\": [\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t \"position\": 1,\n\t \"name\": \"Home\",\n\t \"item\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/\",\n\t \"ad_zone\": \"home\"\n\t },\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t \"position\": 2,\n\t \"name\": \"Air Warfare\",\n\t \"item\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/air\\\/\",\n\t \"ad_zone\": \"air\"\n\t },\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t \"position\": 3,\n\t \"name\": \"The B-21 stealth bomber\u2019s first mission: evading Pentagon red tape\"\n\t }\n\t ]\n\t },\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"WebSite\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#website\",\n\t \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/\",\n\t \"name\": \"Defense News\",\n\t \"description\": \"Covering the politics, business and technology of defense | Defense News\",\n\t \"publisher\": {\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#organization\"\n\t },\n\t \"potentialAction\": [\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"SearchAction\",\n\t \"target\": {\n\t \"@type\": \"EntryPoint\",\n\t \"urlTemplate\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"\n\t },\n\t \"query-input\": {\n\t \"@type\": \"PropertyValueSpecification\",\n\t \"valueRequired\": true,\n\t \"valueName\": \"search_term_string\"\n\t }\n\t }\n\t ],\n\t \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\"\n\t },\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"Organization\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#organization\",\n\t \"name\": \"Defense News\",\n\t \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/\",\n\t \"logo\": {\n\t \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\n\t \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/defensenews-logo-white.png\",\n\t \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/defensenews-logo-white.png\",\n\t \"caption\": \"Defense News\"\n\t },\n\t \"image\": {\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"\n\t }\n\t },\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"Person\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1\",\n\t \"name\": \"migration\",\n\t \"image\": {\n\t \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=gcf4cb6ee0ec29e49e7a963234e4340ec\",\n\t \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\n\t \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\n\t \"caption\": \"migration\"\n\t },\n\t \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/author\\\/migration\\\/\"\n\t }\n\t ]\n\t}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The B-21 stealth bomber\u2019s first mission: evading Pentagon red tape - Defense News","description":"After a dramatic unveiling of Raider, former Air Force leaders are holding a muted celebration, having proved their acquisition strategy worked.","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The B-21 stealth bomber\u2019s first mission: evading Pentagon red tape","og_description":"After a dramatic unveiling of Raider, former Air Force leaders are holding a muted celebration, having proved their acquisition strategy worked.","og_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/air\/2023\/01\/10\/building-a-better-bomber-how-the-stealthy-b-21-subverted-bureaucracy\/","og_site_name":"Defense News","article_published_time":"2023-01-10T14:00:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-08-08T00:38:13+00:00","author":"Stephen Losey","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Stephen Losey","Est. reading time":"13 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/air\/2023\/01\/10\/building-a-better-bomber-how-the-stealthy-b-21-subverted-bureaucracy\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/air\/2023\/01\/10\/building-a-better-bomber-how-the-stealthy-b-21-subverted-bureaucracy\/"},"author":{"name":"migration","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#\/schema\/person\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1"},"headline":"The B-21 stealth bomber\u2019s first mission: evading Pentagon red tape","datePublished":"2023-01-10T14:00:00+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-08T00:38:13+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/air\/2023\/01\/10\/building-a-better-bomber-how-the-stealthy-b-21-subverted-bureaucracy\/"},"wordCount":2582,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/air\/2023\/01\/10\/building-a-better-bomber-how-the-stealthy-b-21-subverted-bureaucracy\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP22337092059898.jpg.jpg","articleSection":["Air Warfare","Daily News Roundup","Global","Newsletters","Pentagon","Special Reports & Exclusives","The Americas"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/air\/2023\/01\/10\/building-a-better-bomber-how-the-stealthy-b-21-subverted-bureaucracy\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/air\/2023\/01\/10\/building-a-better-bomber-how-the-stealthy-b-21-subverted-bureaucracy\/","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/air\/2023\/01\/10\/building-a-better-bomber-how-the-stealthy-b-21-subverted-bureaucracy\/","name":"The B-21 stealth bomber\u2019s first mission: evading Pentagon red tape - Defense News","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/air\/2023\/01\/10\/building-a-better-bomber-how-the-stealthy-b-21-subverted-bureaucracy\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/air\/2023\/01\/10\/building-a-better-bomber-how-the-stealthy-b-21-subverted-bureaucracy\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP22337092059898.jpg.jpg","datePublished":"2023-01-10T14:00:00+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-08T00:38:13+00:00","description":"After a dramatic unveiling of Raider, former Air Force leaders are holding a muted celebration, having proved their acquisition strategy worked.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/air\/2023\/01\/10\/building-a-better-bomber-how-the-stealthy-b-21-subverted-bureaucracy\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/air\/2023\/01\/10\/building-a-better-bomber-how-the-stealthy-b-21-subverted-bureaucracy\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/air\/2023\/01\/10\/building-a-better-bomber-how-the-stealthy-b-21-subverted-bureaucracy\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP22337092059898.jpg.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP22337092059898.jpg.jpg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/air\/2023\/01\/10\/building-a-better-bomber-how-the-stealthy-b-21-subverted-bureaucracy\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/","ad_zone":"home"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Air Warfare","item":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/air\/","ad_zone":"air"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"The B-21 stealth bomber\u2019s first mission: evading Pentagon red tape"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#website","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/","name":"Defense News","description":"Covering the politics, business and technology of defense | Defense News","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#organization","name":"Defense News","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/defensenews-logo-white.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/defensenews-logo-white.png","caption":"Defense News"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#\/schema\/person\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1","name":"migration","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=gcf4cb6ee0ec29e49e7a963234e4340ec","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"migration"},"url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/author\/migration\/"}]}},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"Defense News","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews","push-errors":false,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP22337092059898.jpg.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64250","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=64250"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64250\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":64260,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64250\/revisions\/64260"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=64250"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=64250"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=64250"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=64250"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}