America’s Next Stealth Bomber Got Airborne This Morning

A short video shot by a freelance photojournalist this morning confirms that Northrop Grumman’s
NOC
B-21 has taken to the skies.

The stealth bomber took off from Air Force Plant 42 in Palmdale, California at 7 am local time and climbed away on a test flight that reportedly lasted 90 minutes before the aircraft landed at nearby Edwards Air Force Base at approximately 8:30 am.

Air & Space Forces Magazine reported that the Raider was filmed from outside Plant 42, heading eastbound with an F-16 chase plane, after climbing to about 500 feet. Its landing gear had yet to be retracted and its under-fuselage and rear planform were clearly visible.

The video and photo views of the aft end of the B-21 will be of particular interest to U.S. adversaries seeking open-source intelligence on the aircraft. In September, I spoke with Robert Spalding, former commander of the Air Force’s 509th Operations Group – the nation’s only B-2 Stealth Bomber unit – about the images of the Raider that had been released up until that date.

Spalding pointed out that the images shown of the aircraft on the ground in taxi-testing did not display the rear portions of the aircraft, areas where stealth, infra-red signature and other design features are sensitive. The video and photos taken this morning will offer a few more clues as to the Raider’s design and its similarity to or departure from the B-2.

The flight length and landing at Edwards AFB signal what was almost certainly a full-blown test flight with a number of test points and objectives planned for the sortie. Air & Space Forces Magazine noted that flight tracking websites showed that the bomber flew a roundabout pattern between Palmdale and Edwards for the duration of its initial test flight.

The fact that the B-21 apparently embarked on a working test flight its first time aloft is not a surprise given the derivative exterior design of the bomber. It is expected to have flying qualities similar to the B-2 though it may have substantially different flight systems and weapons systems under the skin.

The flight to Edwards underlines the straight-t0-business test agenda which will be managed by the Air Force Test Center and 412th Test Wing’s B-21 Combined Test Force. It also makes good on the Air Force and Northrop-Grumman’s promise that the Raider would fly before the end of 2023.

An additional five B-21s are in different stages of production within Plant 42 at Palmdale. A variety of photos of this morning’s flight are online showing the aircraft from different angles in the air and on the ground. A trailing wire and air data cone is visible in a couple of the photos which will undoubtedly be complimented by more images as the Raider executes its flight test program going forward.

They will add to the surmises about the functionality and characteristics of the world’s newest dedicated strategic bomber and how it will fit into a future USAF fleet populated by a sixth generation fighter (NGAD) and unmanned collaborative combat aircraft (CCAs).