The Northrop Grumman B-21 Raider was chased by an F-16 from Edwards Air Force Base during its test flight when it was caught on camera.
Following its first flight from Air Force Plant 42 in Palmdale, on November 10, 2023, the secretive B-21 Raider stealth bomber has undergone extensive flight testing at Edwards Air Force Base, California. “Flight testing is a critical step in the test campaign managed by the Air Force Test Center and 412th Test Wing’s B-21 Combined Test Force (CTF) to provide survivable, long-range, penetrating strike capabilities to deter aggression and strategic attacks against the United States, allies, and partners”, said the Air Force recently.
Northrop Grumman, the company responsible for developing the bomber, reported that three B-21 units are now undergoing testing at Edwards AFB, one involved for flight tests and two for ground tests.
This information was shared during the recent B-21 Update panel at the 2024 ASC Conference, where panelists, including Gen. Bussiere; Maj. Gen. Jason Armagost, commander of Eighth Air Force and the Joint-Global Strike Operations Center; William Bailey, Director of the Department of the Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office; and Thomas Jones, president of Northrop Grumman Aeronautics Systems, provided insights into the program.
Jones highlighted that the B-21 is currently capable of completing up to two test flights a week, with plans to increase the frequency to daily flights. “I’m very satisfied with the progress,” Jones said, noting substantial expansion in the aircraft’s flight capabilities.
The push to make the B-21 a “daily flyer” stems from the lessons learned from the B-2 Spirit, which is known for its maintenance-heavy nature. These experiences guided the design of the B-21 to address such challenges.
Interestingly one of the recent test flights was caught on camera by aviation photographer Nelson Tower. Here’s what Nelson recall about the Oct. 2, 2024, sighting.
Me and my friend were actually hanging out at the Sidewinder [low level route] when we heard a couple Lemoore F-18 pilots talking on our scanner about a contrail in the sky which they later identified as the B-21 Raider. After hearing them mention it, we both started looking for contrails in the sky until we finally found it about 20 miles east of us. We took a few photos and confirmed it was indeed a B-21 Raider accompanied by an Edwards f-16.
Soon after the Raider turned away from us, and flew out of visual range we heard a KC-135 start talking to the Edwards F-16 that was trailing the B-21. They ended up refueling and having a short conversation about the Raider and, afterward, we heard the pilot attempt to bank the KC-135 enough to see the B-21 just above them.
Nelson posted the photo of the B-21 Raider and its chase plane along with a clip with some radio chatter recorded by @california_photographer_ on his Instagram account @ntower.aviation, here.
The photo does not provide any additional detail about the bomber, as we already knew the Raider is a twin-engine aircraft, and its shape had been disclosed by the shots taken during its first flight. Still, it’s interesting to see the type contrailing like this during a test flight. By the way, the B-21 is most certainly equipped with a contrail sensor like the one of the B-2 that alerts the pilots when they should change altitude to avoid generating contrails.
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I live in South Carolina, so being able to witness this marvel of engineering while during the short time I was in California is absolutely incredible. What I find a bit comedic is that I have never seen a B-2 in person, but have already got to witness its predecessor fly.
Status of the B-21 Program
Soon after flight testing commenced, Northrop Grumman was awarded the contract for Low-Rate Initial Production of the B-21 Raider stealth bomber. Although specific contract details were not disclosed, during the 2022 bomber rollout, the Air Force indicated an expected average procurement cost of $692 million per unit.
While the number of bombers in the initial contract wasn’t revealed, post-flight reports suggested up to 21 aircraft could be covered. Northrop Grumman stated that six B-21 airframes were in various production stages at the time of the first flight, including the one that flew, named “Cerberus.”
In May, both the Air Force and Northrop Grumman released the first official photos of the B-21 in flight. Around the same time, Andrew Hunter, the Air Force’s Service Acquisition Executive, shared a rare update, indicating that the test program was progressing well. He also expressed optimism about meeting key milestones this year. Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David W. Allvin noted that while the Air Force is planning to acquire 100 B-21 Raiders, future advancements in technology may lead to a cap on production.
A key milestone was also mentioned during the above mentioned B-21 Update panel at the 2024 ASC Conference: the B-21 successfully completed its static testing on the G-1 unit, one of two ground test units used to assess the plane’s structural integrity. William Bailey, Director of the Department of the Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office, emphasized the importance of this test in validating the aircraft’s structural design, which reinforced confidence in the digital models. The plane has now moved into fatigue testing.
It was also confirmed during the panel that 21 bombers are contracted under Low-Rate Initial Production, with deliveries expected to begin in the mid-2020s.
Gen. Bussiere spoke about current global threats and the critical role the bomber force will play in addressing them, highlighting the advanced capabilities of the B-21 as a sixth-generation aircraft. He underscored that the new aircraft sets a global standard for technology, stating, “No one else in the world can do what we are doing right now with the B-21, and no one can hold at risk what we can at a time and place of our choosing.”
Many thanks to Nelson Tower for sharing his experience and allowing us to use his photographs. Make sure you follow him on Instagram here. A big thank you as well to our friend and contributor @stinkjet for the heads up!
