Wednesday’s video (below) marks the service’s first reveal of the aircraft’s flight operations.

• READ MORE: B-21 Flight Testing, Production ‘Continues to Make Progress,’ Air Force Says

“A B-21 Raider conducts flight testing, which includes ground testing, taxiing, and flying operations in California,” the Air Force said in a statement accompanying the video. “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.

“The B-21 will be the backbone of the service’s future bomber force, and will possess the range, access, and payload to penetrate the most highly contested threat environments and hold any target around the globe at risk,” the service said.

The stealth strike bomber was unveiled in December 2022 and officially moved into low-rate production earlier this year. In January, Northrop Grumman said six B-21 bombers are in various stages of final assembly and testing at its facility in Palmdale, California.

• READ MORE: B-21 Raider Takes First Flight

The Air Force has said it intends to purchase at least 100 of the aircraft. Ellsworth Air Force Base (AFB), South Dakota, has been designated as the first main operating facility for the B-21 and its formal training unit. The bomber is expected to arrive at Ellsworth by the mid-2020s.

Friday, the Air Force announced that the service’s newest bomber would also be based at Whiteman AFB, Missouri, and Dyess AFB, Texas.

“We continue to achieve B-21 production milestones,” General Thomas Bussiere, Air Force Global Strike Command commander, said in a statement. “Through digital engineering and open architecture design, we are getting an agile strategic deterrent that delivers a decisive response as required.” 

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The stealth strike bomber was unveiled in December 2022 and officially moved into low-rate production earlier this year. In January, Northrop Grumman said six B-21 bombers are in various stages of final assembly and testing at its facility in Palmdale, California.

On Wednesday, the Air Force released a new image of the aircraft it calls the “backbone of the  U.S. Air Force bomber fleet.”

Northrop Grumman on Thursday released an additional image of the bomber in flight, saying the test campaign at Edwards AFB was led by a Combined Test Force (CTF) composed of personnel representing the Air Force and the manufacturer.

“CTF test pilots indicate the jet is performing as expected with the aircraft flying like the simulator, reflecting the precision of the digital environment on B-21,” Northrop Grumman said in a statement.

• READ MORE: Pentagon Greenlights B-21 Production

Andrew Hunter, assistant secretary of the Air Force for acquisition, technology and logistics, addressed the Senate Armed Services Committee earlier this month on the B-21’s progress.

“We are in the flight test program, [and] the flight test program is proceeding well,” said Hunter. “It is doing what flight test programs are designed to do, which is helping us learn about the unique characteristics of this platform, but in a very effective way.” 

Designed to carry out long-range conventional and nuclear missions, the B-21 is set to eventually replace aging B-1 Lancer and B-2 Spirit fleets. The B-21 is scheduled to hit full operational status in the mid-2020s.

• READ MORE: B-21 Raider Takes First Flight

The Air Force has said it intends to purchase at least 100 of the aircraft. Ellsworth Air Force Base, South Dakota, has been designated as the first main operating facility for the B-21 and its formal training unit. 

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The stealth bomber, which was unveiled by Northrop Grumman to the public in December and confirmed by the service to be undergoing taxi testing last month, had long been projected to make its first flight by the end of the year. That met deadline was confirmed Friday when freelance journalist Matt Hartman posted a video of an aloft B-21 on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Air Force officials confirmed the bomber is in flight testing.

“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 to provide survivable, long-range, penetrating strike capabilities to deter aggression and strategic attacks against the United States, allies, and partners,” Ann Stefanek, Air Force spokesperson, said in a statement.

Northrop Grumman is manufacturing six test aircraft, according to the service.

• READ MORE: Air Force Confirms B-21 Taxi Tests Underway

B-21 RAIDER FIRST FLIGHT 11-10-23 #RAIDER33 #B21Raider pic.twitter.com/3tEKudqDiw

— Matt Hartman (@ShorealoneFilms) November 10, 2023

Edwards Air Force Base, California, will lead testing and evaluation of the B-21. That includes ground testing, taxiing, and flight operations, the Air Force said.

Designed to carry out long-range conventional and nuclear missions, the B-21 is set to eventually replace aging B-1 Lancer and B-2 Spirit fleets. It is scheduled to hit full operational status in the mid-2020s.

• READ MORE: Northrop Grumman Pulls the Cover Off B-21 Raider

Ellsworth Air Force Base, South Dakota, has been designated the first main operating base for the B-21 and  the B-21 formal training unit. Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri, and Dyess Air Force Base, Texas, are both slated to receive aircraft as they become available, pending environmental approval. Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma, will coordinate B-21 maintenance and sustainment.

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With a widening war, the strategic, fast, high-flying bomber project stalled in the 1960s, while the B-52—which excelled in a low-altitude role—remained relevant on bombing missions in Vietnam.

However, defense experts remained concerned about more advanced Soviet radar and surface-to-air missiles, making low altitude penetration missions riskier. Therefore, the USAF picked up again the task of creating a supersonic bomber to replace the aged B-52.

Under President Richard Nixon, Secretary of Defense Melvin Laird authorized the B-1A project in April 1969. A B-1A prototype built by Rockwell International completed its first test flight on December 23, 1974. Four prototypes of the long-range, high speed—flying in excess of Mach 2 at high altitude and Mach 1.2 at low altitude—strategic bomber were developed and tested. 

Unfortunately, the estimated unit cost for the B-1A increased from $40 million in 1970 to $100 million by 1977. Additionally, short-range cruise missiles had been developed that could be launched from B-52s. President Jimmy Carter canceled the B-1A program on June 30, 1977, before production began to reduce the defense budget. However, flight testing of the prototypes continued through 1981.

Production

Once again, a change in presidential administrations saved the B-1. President Ronald Reagan approved an improved variant, the B-1B, in October 1981. He wanted to push the Soviet Union to its financial limits, and a new strategic bomber would cause the Soviets to reinforce their air defense network. “Reagan bolstered the U.S. military might to ruin the Soviet economy, and he achieved his goal,” said Gennady Gerasimov, the top spokesman for the Soviet Foreign Ministry during the 1980s. 

The B-1B was slower and less expensive than the B-1A. According to the USAF website, among the key changes were “an additional structure to increase payload by 74,000 pounds, an improved radar and reduction of the radar cross-section by an order of magnitude. The changes led to a reduction in maximum speed to Mach 1.2.”

As modified, the B-1B Lancer was built for “high-speed, low-altitude penetration missions,” according to the USAF, which ordered 100 B-1Bs in 1982. A B-1B took flight on October 18, 1984, and flew at 60,000 feet with a range of more than 7,000 miles. The first B-1B was delivered to Dyess Air Force Base (KDYS) in Texas in June 1985, achieving initial operational capability on October 1, 1986. The final B-1B was delivered May 2, 1988.

Features

The USAF B-1B fact sheet states the “B-1B’s blended wing/body configuration, variable-geometry wings and turbofan afterburning engines combine to provide long range, maneuverability and high speed while enhancing survivability. Forward wing settings are used for takeoff, landings, air refueling and in some high-altitude weapons employment scenarios. Aft wing sweep settings—the main combat configuration—are typically used during high subsonic and supersonic flight, enhancing the B-1B’s maneuverability in the low- and high-altitude regimes. The B-1B’s speed and superior handling characteristics allow it to seamlessly integrate in mixed force packages. These capabilities, when combined with its substantial payload, excellent radar targeting system, long loiter time and survivability, make the B-1B a key element of any joint/composite strike force.”

During its first decade, the B-1B was primarily a nuclear deterrence bomber, serving as the third leg of the U.S. nuclear triad. While the B-1B Lancer was designed originally as a strategic nuclear bomber capable of flying swiftly at low altitudes to avoid Soviet early warning radars, the end of the Cold War and the collapse of the Soviet Union changed its mission beginning in 1994. 

The USAF adapted the B-1B Lancer to carry conventional munitions; updates improved the aircraft’s ability to precision-deliver conventional munitions, including advanced targeting electronics, and additional fixtures necessary to deliver a large number of bombs. “Since then [the B-1B] has been used extensively in close air support and tactical bombing missions,” according to Boeing, which acquired Rockwell International on August 1, 1996.

The conversion to conventional armaments began in November 2007 under the original START treaty and was completed in March 2011 under the second START treaty. 

Nearly 40 years after the first B-1B was produced, the aircraft remains “a highly versatile, multi-mission weapon system,” according to the USAF. For the next several years, the B-1B will lead the U.S. long-range bomber force and is capable of carrying the largest conventional payload of both guided and unguided weapons. 

According to Boeing, the B-1B “holds 61 world records for speed, payload, distance” and time of climb in its class. 

Combat Missions

During Operation Desert Shield in the 1990s, the U.S. military called almost every combat aircraft in its arsenal into action—it was the largest U.S. military mobilization since Vietnam. Similarly, during Operation Desert Storm, the USAF utilized the B-52 heavily. Because of its nuclear deterrence role, the B-1B was conspicuously absent during both operations—together known as the Gulf War. 

The B-1 saw its first use in combat to support the mission against Iraq during Operation Desert Fox in December 1998. B-1Bs penetrated Iraqi air defenses and destroyed Republican Guard barracks. This operation validated the conventional role of the aircraft and its ability to join in a force package. 

In March 1999, NATO forces began an air campaign against Serbia to end the human rights abuses against Kosovo’s ethnic Albanian population. Code-named Operation Allied Force, this effort ended 78 days later with the withdrawal of Serbian army and paramilitary forces from Kosovo. Six B-1s were used in the operation; they delivered more than 20 percent of the total ordnance while flying less than 2 percent of the combat sorties.

During the first six months of Operation Enduring Freedom (the war in Afghanistan and the global war on terrorism, which began on October 7, 2001, and lasted until December 31, 2014), eight B-1Bs dropped nearly 40 percent of the total tonnage delivered by coalition air forces. This included nearly 3,900 (67 percent of the total) joint direct attack munitions (JDAM), a guidance kit that converts unguided bombs into all-weather precision-guided munitions.

In Operation Iraqi Freedom, B-1B aircraft flew less than 1 percent of the combat missions while dropping 40 percent of the weapons and 70 percent of the precision-guided JDAM weapons.

During Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom, B-1Bs were used in bombing, show of force, overwatch, and reconnaissance missions. In Afghanistan in 2007, B-1Bs also flew a search and rescue operation after Taliban forces shot down a NATO helicopter. B-1Bs flew 1,200 combat sorties, executed 3,000 tactical air requests, intervened in 432 ground engagements, and dropped 700 weapons during 2011. 

During the 2011 intervention in Libya, B-1Bs flew from Ellsworth Air Force Base (KRCA) in South Dakota to bomb Libyan targets—the first time B-1Bs flew a combat mission from the continental U.S.  

In Syria, B-1Bs were used against both ISIS and Syrian government targets. In April 2018, B-1Bs launched 19 JASSM cruise missiles because of the Assad regime’s chemical weapons attacks. This was the first use of the JASSM, which added to the B-1B’s already extended strike range. 

During these conflicts, the B-1B was used for precision bombing attacks, including close air support. Because of its range, it remained on station longer than the fighter-bombers used by the U.S. Air Force, Marine Corps, and Navy—although not as long as many drones.

The B-1B’s Future 

By early 2021, the 100 B-1Bs built by Rockwell in the 1980s had been reduced to 62 aircraft. The USAF retired about three dozen in the early 2000s and lost several others to accidents. Heavy use by the U.S. Central Command on close air support for ground troops in Iraq and Afghanistan—which the B-1 wasn’t built to do—took a toll. In 2017, the USAF reported that only half of the 62 bombers were combat-ready. In 2019, Air Force Global Strike Command (AFGSC) stated only seven were fully mission-capable.

In a September 24, 2021 article in Air & Space Forces magazine, the AFGSC stated it had “retired 17 B-1B bombers from its inventory, leaving a fleet of 45 aircraft,” which are located at Ellsworth AFB and Dyess AFB. 

The divestiture supported the USAF’s “efforts to modernize America’s bomber fleet” as authorized by Congress. The article stated a “smaller fleet will allow the remaining aircraft to receive more attention, spare parts, and generally achieve a higher level of readiness,” according to AFGSC’s director of logistics and engineering, Brig. Gen. Kenyon K. Bell. 

According to Bell, “The cost avoidance of operating the retired jets will also help pay for capability upgrades.” The Air Force indicated that “many of the aircraft had severe structural fatigue, especially at the wing-pivot points, because the jets were flying high and slow instead of low and fast with wings swept, as they were designed to do.” Bell also said, “The aircraft we retired would have taken between $10 million and $30 million per aircraft to get back to a status quo fleet in the short term until the B-21 comes online.” Most B-1B airframes will be at least 40 to 50 years old at retirement.

Several years ago, the USAF announced that the B-1B would be phased out over the next two decades. However, this plan was based on the successful development of the Northrop Grumman B-21 Raider, a dual-capable, stealth bomber. 

The USAF’s strategic plan is to use two bombers—the B-21 and the B-52H Stratofortress—the first of which came online in 1955. In an ironic twist, the B-1B will be taken out of service before the B-52—the airplane it was intended to replace. The USAF has not announced when it will retire another group of B-1Bs or begin retiring the B-2 Spirit fleet.

As noted in National Interest, significant delays in the B-21 program or “changes in the strategic situations” could cause the USAF to keep the B-1B flying, “much as the B-52 has remained in service well beyond a variety of projected retirement dates.” Whenever the last B-1B is retired, the U.S. “will no longer have a dedicated bomber capable of supersonic flight—but stealth replaced speed as the key metric of a bomber’s effectiveness some time ago.”

Legacy

When it was built, the B-1B was intended to deliver nuclear weapons inside the Soviet Union. Fortunately, the aircraft never undertook that mission.

Since then, B-1B bombers have served in multiple capacities, demonstrating a remarkable degree of mission flexibility. Although their numbers continue to dwindle, the B-1B is a key part of the USAF arsenal at this time.

FLYING Classics thanks Air & Space Forces Magazine, Boeing, military.com, the National Interest, OWLcation.com, and the United States Air Force for information and photos that contributed significantly to this article.  

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Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall confirmed Tuesday that when it comes to exploring the use of pairing unmanned air combat platforms with piloted aircraft, the service is all in. 

“The technologies are coming together to allow us to do manned, unmanned teaming of a fighter, let’s say, with one or more uncrewed aircraft that accompanies it,” Kendall said during an online event at the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies. “I think the mix of capabilities that you put in that formation is still very much uncertain. It’s up in the air, but there are a lot of possibilities. What that opens up to you is some really interesting tactical options that you don’t have when you only have manned aircraft.”

Bombers present “a lot of potential,” Kendall said, adding that he wasn’t as certain the roles uncrewed platforms would play alongside them, such as whether or not they follow the aircraft, or lead with more sophisticated functionality. There’s also the question about stealth, he added.

“We’re going to explore that and try to figure out what the right mix is there,” he said.

• READ MORE: Report: Air Force Set To Roll Out B-21 Stealth Bomber This Year

In December, Kendall confirmed that two unmanned air combat vehicle programs capable of working in conjunction with bombers such as the B-21 Raider currently under development would be included in the 2023 defense budget. “These will be acknowledged classified programs,” Kendall said at the time, adding, “but I am going to try to get them started in ’23.”

Kendall said Tuesday he’s focused on getting the initial capability out to operators as soon as possible.

“I think we can get to what I call a minimum viable product and maybe it’s one person—one pilot—with a wingman in an NGAD or an F-35, or maybe it’s more than that. And it’s one set of functionalities originally, then over time that develops and matures,” he said.

“We’ll work to get a platform—an uncrewed platform—that can work with NGAD, while we’re working on NGAD, I would say roughly the same time frame we should have some things out there,” he said. 

The Air Force’s secret NGAD family of capabilities is expected to be operational by 2030. 

Last month, Kendall said he was looking at programs that paired uncrewed combat aircraft to manned aircraft as a cost-effective way to build mass.

“One of the reasons I’ve gone down this road is, if we only do very expensive aircraft for the Air Force, we’re not going to be able to afford an Air Force anywhere near the size that we either need or have today,” he said. 

• READ MORE: Air Force Looking To Manned, Unmanned Aircraft Teaming

Future combat will look significantly different compared to that of recent decades, the Air Force chief said during the event Tuesday.

“The fights that we’re worried about are different from the ones we’ve been in,” Kendall said. “We’ve been in one where we controlled time, to a large extent. Where things happen relatively slowly and in small numbers,” he said.

“The fights we’re worried about now, whether it’s an incursion…against NATO, or an attempt to, say, seize Taiwan by force, are a totally different kind of operation,” Kendall said. “You have to be prepared to deal with a lot of objects that you’re trying to understand and sort out, and a lot of things happening in a very compressed timeline.”

• READ MORE: Air Force Wants Combat Drones Controlled by Piloted Aircraft

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