"The Department of the Air Force and Northrop Grumman Corp. have reached an agreement to expand production capacity for the B-21 Raider, accelerating delivery of the Air Force’s next-generation stealth bomber fleet. The agreement applies $4.5 billion in funding already authorized and appropriated <…> This agreement accelerates the approved acquisition profile by increasing annual production capacity by 25%, compressing delivery timelines while preserving cost and performance discipline," the Air Force said in a statement.
The new bomber is designed to operate in the most challenging environments and features advanced technologies, including stealth, resilient networking, and a modern, data-driven command and control architecture, the statement added.
The first B-21 delivery was completed on schedule in 2025, the statement read, noting that the aircraft will arrive at Ellsworth Air Force Base, South Dakota, in 2027.