Video appears to capture first flight of the B-21 Raider, the US Air Force's newest stealth bomber

Chris Panella
·3 min read
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  • A new video shows the first flight of the US Air Force's newest stealth bomber, the B-21 Raider.

  • A US Air Force spokesperson confirmed the testing of the B-21, which is the US' first new bomber in decades.

  • The aircraft's developer previously praised its next-gen stealth tech, long range, and payload flexibility.

A new video appears to show the long-awaited first flight of the US Air Force's newest strategic bomber and the first new stealth bomber developed in decades, the B-21 Raider.

On Friday, footage shared on X, formerly known as Twitter, by freelance photojournalist Matt Hartman showed what he said was the new B-21 Raider flying high in the sky after taking off from the Northrop Grumman Corp facility at the Air Force's Plant 42 in Palmdale, California.

Reuters captured a shot of the plane on the runway ahead of the flight.

The B-21 "Raider", the long-range stealth bomber that can be armed with nuclear weapons, rolls onto the runway at Northrop Grumman's site at Air Force Plant 42, during the first flight of the United States Air Force's B-21 "Raider", in Palmdale, California, U.S., November 10, 2023.
The B-21 "Raider", the long-range stealth bomber that can be armed with nuclear weapons, rolls onto the runway at Northrop Grumman's site at Air Force Plant 42, during the first flight of the United States Air Force's B-21 "Raider", in Palmdale, California, U.S., November 10, 2023.REUTERS/David Swanson

The first flight was confirmed by US Air Force spokesperson Ann Stefanek, who said in a statement provided to multiple outlets that the B-21 Raider "is in flight testing." She explained that this stage "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."

That's a major step for what has been touted as the "world's first sixth-generation aircraft," which was unveiled in December 2022.

At the time of that big reveal, Northrop Grumman said that its first flight was projected for sometime in 2023 and that six test planes were being built in preparation. After it was unveiled, Doug Young, sector vice president and general manager of Northrop Grumman Aeronautics Systems, said "the B-21 is the most advanced military aircraft ever built and is a product of pioneering innovation and technological excellence."

The aircraft the first new US stealth bomber in over 30 years, and, according to its producer, it was designed with next-generation stealth technology and long-range flight capabilities to make it adaptable to whatever missions it's needed for.

Pentagon leadership has said that the penetrating strike stealth bomber "will serve as the backbone of America's bomber force."

The "flying wing" B-21 Raider is the successor to the B-2 Spirit and is able to carry both conventional and nuclear payloads. And it is designed in such a way that it can be adapted to carry new weapons as they come about, "new weapons," the secretary of defense said last year, "that haven't even been invented yet."

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