Northrop Grumman expects to receive its next production contract for the new B-21 Raider stealth bomber sometime before the end of this year.
At present, Northrop is working through a flight-testing campaign with two B-21s. At least four more aircraft are known to be in final assembly under low-rate initial production (LRIP) contracts for Lots 1 and 2.
Speaking during the company’s third-quarter earnings call on 21 October, Northrop chief executive Kathy Warden said the B-21 development programme is proceeding as planned, with the US Air Force (USAF) set to issue its next production contract in the upcoming quarter.
“We remain on track to receive the LRIP Lot 3 and Lot 5 advanced procurement awards later this year,” Warden says.
She also reveals that the company has multiple examples undergoing ground testing, without providing a specific number.
Northrop was approved to begin low-rate production on the B-21 in January 2024, not long after a joint team from Northrop and the USAF logged the maiden flight of the new Raider bomber.
The USAF has committed to fielding at least 100 B-21s, with the new flying-wing stealth bomber set to enter service sometime in the mid-2020s.
While that service entry date is unlikely the move forward, the USAF may push to get a greater number of aircraft to frontline operators sooner than initially planned.
“We continue discussions with the air force on the framework for an agreement to accelerate the B-21 production rate,” Warden says, describing talks on the subject as “active”.
Funding to support a B-21 acceleration was included in the “One Big Beautiful Bill” budget reconciliation spending act passed by Congress and signed by US President Donald Trump earlier this year, according to Warden.
However, specifics of how such a change would be executed are still being hammered out by officials from Northrop and the USAF, including the actual production rate and timing of deliveries.
“It’s too early for me to speculate on that,” Warden notes. “We are in the midst of those discussions.”
Progress has been slowed by the ongoing shutdown of the US Federal government, which is driven by political disagreements in Congress over spending.
Northrop expects negotiations on accelerating B-21 production to resume when full government operations are restored, with more clarity on potential changes to the stealth bomber programme coming in the next few months.
Notably, Warden says such a move would not include any increase to the USAF’s planned acquisition of 100 B-21s – a prospect which has been suggested in recent years.
“That would be a separate discussion,” the Northrop chief notes. “That decision has not yet been made by the Department [of War].”
