"We are shifting from 20 low observable [Stealth-capable] bombers to far larger numbers [with the B-21 program]," US Air Force Deputy Chief of Staff for Strategic Deterrence and Nuclear Integration Gen. Gebara told a Mitchell Aerospace Institute podcast. "The B-21 is succeeding in its flight tests but it still isn't there yet. We still have a lot of work to do."
Gebara said the Air Force was looking at deploying a force of 140 to 175 B-21 bombers.
The Northrop Grumman B-21 Raider is being developed as a long-range, stealth intercontinental strategic bomber that can deliver conventional and thermonuclear weapons. It is designed to replace the Rockwell B-1 Lancer and Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit stealth aircraft by 2040, and possibly the Boeing B-52 after that.
The aircraft, which made its maiden flight in November 2023, is widely seen as the US equivalent of the Russian Tupolev PAK DA and it is expected to be capable of subsonic flight at Mach 0.8, according to published reports.