The First B-21 Takes To The Air: What That Means

Seeing a new aircraft of any type fly is a big deal as it represents the culmination of years of hard work planning, designing, and engineering a machine of immense complexity. Even more rare—and significant—is the first flight of a combat stealth aircraft, which we just witnessed in the first flight of Northrop Grumman’s
NOC
B-21 Raider on November 10, 2023.

The B‑21 is a leap forward in capability. It is designed to operate at long ranges, with large payloads, and in highly contested environments. It is also the first major weapon system to enter production that was specially designed to deter China, and the first program with test aircraft built as production-representative aircraft. It also fully embodies the attributes of the information age—something increasingly crucial as we see sensing, processing, and collaborating stand as make-or-break attributes in modern battlespace.

While the first flight of any new aircraft is momentous, some are especially important as they mark technological thresholds that expand the impact of combat aviation. Examples include the B-17, Me-262, F-117, B-2, and F-22. Each fundamentally reset what it meant to fly and fight. Each significantly improved performance in areas like speed, range, maneuverability, survivability, sensors, weapons, and more recently, networks and information processing—and each set a new bar in terms of aerial combat performance.

While there is no definitive measure of eras, flights of the first jet aircraft, the first supersonic aircraft, and the first stealth aircraft are often identified as the starting point for new generations of combat aircraft that provided a leap-ahead in capability. The B-21 is no different. New technologies and manufacturing techniques have boosted the aircraft’s survivability, maintainability, and networking into a new generation of mission performance.

Lessons learned from previous stealth aircraft programs, such as the B-2 and the use of digital engineering techniques, have improved the survivability and aerodynamic performance of the B-21. According to reports, one immense upgrade for the B-21 is its stealth coating system. It affords both a new benchmark for survivability and maintainability. This is important, because unlike earlier generation stealth bombers, the B-21 is designed to be flown and sustained at high operational tempos. This avoids lengthy hangar recovery times. At the same time, the B-21 is an information age weapon system that can seamlessly collect, process, and distribute data across an array of other weapon systems.

Reports also indicate that the B-21 is now the first aircraft to fully incorporate an open mission system architecture so that the aircraft can be easily and efficiently upgraded as new capabilities and software become available. As we all know, the rate of change in the digital environment is measured in hours and days, not years like in past generations. The hallmarks of increased survivability, maintainability, and open system architecture mark the B-21 as the vanguard of a new generation of combat aircraft.

It is also noteworthy that the B-21 currently undergoing flight testing is a production representative aircraft, not a prototype. Historically, the initial flights of a test program simply answer the question of how well it can fly. In today’s world of rapidly advancing threats, flight test must move quickly beyond just physically flying the aircraft to consider full mission system performance. Significantly, an aircraft cannot be completely mission tested until all the mission systems have been fully integrated during production. And unlike previous flight test programs that began with prototype systems, the first B-21, called “T-1,” has been built with its mission systems and software integrated into the aircraft using the same production line, with the same manufacturing process as all future B-21s.

This is unique to the B-21 program and stands in comparison to other types that took far longer to cross this threshold. This is a big deal in an era where threats are on the rise and we need new combat aircraft operational on flightlines as soon as possible.

Netting this accomplishment required fully digitizing the B-21’s design and incorporating suppliers and subsystems into the program’s digital ecosystem. That network, coupled with a continuous testing regime, helped validate digital models of the aircraft, mature its design, identify potential maintenance challenges, and implement design changes before T-1 was built. The decision to take this approach was based on lessons learned from previous aircraft programs. If the B-21 program continues to progress as intended, the outcome is expected to yield an on-time initial operating capability—a rarity for a major acquisition program.

The B-21 is the first of the three legs of our aging nuclear deterrent triad to enter operational testing and accordingly will be the first to enter service. Unlike the other two, the Columbia class ballistic missile submarine, and the Sentinel intercontinental ballistic missile program, the B-21 is a dual-capable system, providing both nuclear and conventional capabilities to combatant commanders. That alone makes it the most cost-effective leg of the triad.

In its conventional role the B‑21 will significantly expand America’s ability to penetrate adversary air defenses and credibly hold at risk key and otherwise inaccessible targets. Penetrating, high payload, long-range strike is one of the crown jewels of American military prowess. The B-21 first flight also provides critical assurance of U.S. security commitments to our global partners and allies.

The rise of the B-21 Raider is a visible example of a new era in U.S. national security, marking a paradigm shift in aircraft performance, manufacturing, and systems integration. The United States—and those who would threaten her—have witnessed an aircraft fly that is like no other. It is now up to the Department of Defense and Congress to ensure the success exemplified with the B-21’s first flight is sustained and not inhibited by a series of continuing resolutions. The B-21 and related capabilities in the long-range strike family of systems are too important to our nation’s security to delay.