The U.S. Air Force Has Only 19 Stealth Bombers Today — the B-21 Raider Will Change That

The U.S. Air Force Has Only 19 Stealth Bombers Today — the B-21 Raider Will Change That

Following years of speculation, the Pentagon is finally sending clear signals that the United States needs more B-21 Raider stealth bombers than originally planned and that procurement plans will be adjusted upward. In February, Air Force Secretary Troy Meink announced that the Air Force and Northrop Grumman had reached an agreement to increase B-21 production capacity by 25%, using $4.5 billion previously approved by Congress to accelerate deli…

Northrop: Faster B-21 Production Allows USAF to Consider Bigger Fleet

Northrop Grumman hopes its efforts to make more B-21 Raiders faster will encourage the Air Force to expand the final fleet size of the advanced stealth bomber. Kathy Warden, Northrop’s chief executive, said during a May 28 discussion at the Bernstein Strategic Decisions Conference that the company is taking steps—at times, on its own dime—to expand its production capacity for the B-21. If the Air Force is confident that Northrop will be able t…

Northrop Grumman sees path to larger B-21 Raider fleet

Speaking on May 28 at the Bernstein Strategic Decisions Conference, Warden said faster production could give the Air Force more confidence in buying more than 100 B-21s. The service has so far committed to at least 100 aircraft. “As we move through the completion of the test program and into production, we look forward to the opportunity to build these faster—and that’s the agreement that we have now come to with the Air Force—which also opens u…