DefenseU.S. Air Force to boost B-21 Raider production capacity by 25% under $4.5 billion deal
The U.S. Air Force (USAF) said on 23 February it has reached a $4.5 billion agreement with Northrop Grumman to increase annual production capacity of the B-21 Raider stealth bomber by 25%, accelerating deliveries of the next-generation long-range strike aircraft.
The funding, already authorized under fiscal year 2025 reconciliation legislation, will be used to expand manufacturing capacity rather than alter the total number of aircraft planned. The Air Force continues to state a requirement for at least 100 B-21s.
Officials did not disclose the revised annual production rate, but said the move is intended to compress the delivery timeline while maintaining existing cost and performance baselines.
The B-21 is currently in flight testing, with at least two aircraft flying from Edwards Air Force Base, California. Additional test articles are supporting ground evaluations. Initial operational aircraft are expected to be delivered to Ellsworth Air Force Base, South Dakota, in 2027.
Northrop Grumman has begun work at its final assembly facility in Palmdale, California, as the program transitions from development into early production phases.
The Raider is designed as a penetrating, long-range bomber capable of operating in contested airspace. It will replace portions of the aging B-1B and B-2 fleets and form a central element of the Air Force’s future nuclear and conventional strike architecture.
The production acceleration does not indicate a change in total procurement. Northrop Grumman executives have previously said that any increase beyond the planned 100 aircraft would require a separate decision by the Pentagon and Congress.
The urgency is driven by the limited size of the current U.S. stealth bomber fleet, which consists of 20 B-2 Spirit aircraft. Those aircraft were employed in 2025 during Operation Midnight Hammer, a U.S. strike on Iranian nuclear facilities.
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