The next US Air Force (USAF) stealth bomber, the B-21 Raider had its engines turned on for the first time recently, according to Kathy Warden, chief executive of Northrop Grumman, during a financial results conference call.
“We successfully powered on the first flight-test aircraft in the quarter,” said the executive, adding that this is “another important milestone in our campaign to achieve first flight and transition into production”.
The executive, however, has not yet set a date for the aircraft’s inaugural flight, which should take off later this year.
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Replacement for the B-2 Spirit and the B-1B
The B-21 was unveiled to the public on December 3, 2022 at a ceremony at the Northrop Grumman facility in Palmdale, Calif., known as “Plant 42”.
Also a USAF test center, the site was the stage for the presentation of the B-2 Spirit in 1988, a bomber that will be replaced by the Raider in the next decade.
Warden also reaffirmed that the manufacturer is up to date with the assembly of the first six fuselages of the B-21. The model recently deployed is a “production-representative” test aircraft known as the “T1,” added Kathy.
The USAF is expected to operate at least 100 B-21s over the life of the program, which is expected to extend beyond 2050.
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The Raider’s unit price is around $692 million, a sum that includes the bomber itself, crew training, spare parts and support equipment.
That’s an exorbitant figure, but it represents only a fraction of the value of the B-2, the most expensive plane ever, valued at about $2 billion per aircraft.
