US Air Force Begins to Flight Test B-21 Raider Strategic Bomber

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) – The B-21 Raider stealth bomber has officially gone airborne during the first test flight on Friday, nearly a year since the aircraft was presented to the public, a US Air Force spokesperson told Sputnik in a statement.

“The B-21 Raider 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,” the statement said.

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

— Matt Hartman (@ShorealoneFilms) November 10, 2023

At this moment, six more test aircraft are being produced and the US Air Force will receive at least 100 of these aircraft, which should become the next generation of strategic stealth bombers after the departure of the B-1s and B-2s with new penetrating deep strike conventional and nuclear capabilities, according to the statement.

The Ellsworth Air Force base in the US state of South Dakota has become the first and so far the only base where training and other services related to B-21 Raider are conducted. In the future, air bases in other states will also be added, including in Missouri, Texas, Oklahoma, and California, the statement added.

Each B-21 Raider will cost more than $700 million to procure in 2023 prices, $150 million more than in 2010 when the program was initiated.