The U.S. Air Force’s B-21 Raiders are on track for a 2027 delivery to a South Dakota base, an Air Force official said.
B-21 Raiders, the service’s long-range stealth bombers currently in initial production, will be “on the ramp” at Ellsworth Air Force Base next year, Gen. Dale White, director of Critical Major Weapon Systems, said in a Wednesday keynote address at an event in Dayton, Ohio.
White, who also acts as direct reporting portfolio manager to the deputy defense secretary, is tasked with managing weapons systems, such as the F-47 and B-21 programs.
At the Life Cycle Industry Days, hosted by the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, White confirmed that the first operational aircraft of the stealth bombers are on track for a 2027 Ellsworth delivery as initially projected in February.
The program, which White deemed “the physical proof our warfighting-focused acquisition mindset can and will work,” has increased its production capacity by 25%, boosting its delivery timeline.
The deal between the Air Force and Northrop Gumman, the defense company tasked with B-21 manufacturing in a 2024 contract award, first bolstered the program with already authorized funding of $4.5 billion in a reconciliation bill, which was signed in fiscal 2025 as the “One Big Beautiful Bill,” part of the Pentagon’s fiscal 2026 defense budget.
For fiscal 2027, the historic $1.5 trillion budget request proposes $6.1 billion for the B-21 program.
The first next-generation stealth bomber began flight testing in 2023 at Edwards Air Force Base, California, with the second following in 2025 as the force moved to integrate weapons and critical mission systems into the aircraft.
The program contains a gradual increase in production, with an eventual production rate of approximately seven aircraft every year.
The force seeks at least 100 B-21s to replace the aging B-1B Lancer and B-2 Spirit fleets in the coming decades.
“This is what disciplined acquisition delivers,” White said in a February release announcing the expanded production capacity. “This decision reflects our confidence in the program’s performance and the stability of the industrial base. By increasing production capacity now, we are responsibly accelerating delivery of a critical, combat-effective capability to the warfighter.”
Cristina Stassis is a reporter covering stories surrounding the defense industry, national security, military/veteran affairs and more. She previously worked as an editorial fellow for Defense News in 2024 where she assisted the newsroom in breaking news across Sightline Media Group.
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