As the 30th anniversary of the first flight of the B-2 Stealth Bomber was being celebrated, Northrop Grumman Aircraft continued to ramp up for development and production of its replacement, the B-21.
Northrop Grumman will take advantage of lessons learned from the B-2 to design and build the new stealth aircraft. The new aircraft could fly in 2021 and be in service before the end of the decade.
“The B-2 will be setting the path for the B-21,” Janis Pamiljans, president of Northrop Grumman’s aerospace systems sector, said. “What we’ve learned on B-2 is that they are finding themselves baselined in the design for B-21 for supportability, sustainability, mission capable rate.”
The B-21 program is being managed by the Air Force’s Rapid Capabilities Office to cut red tape, and any design changes — which can slow progress and increase costs — must be approved at higher levels than usual, according to the Air Force.
The Air Force is projected to buy 100 B-21 bombers by the mid-2030s at an estimated unit cost of $511 million. Only 21 B-2 Stealth Bombers were built.