The B-21 Raider Stealth Bomber Conducts its First Maiden Flight with a Short 90-Minute Hop

The vaunted B-21 Raider bomber took to the skies today November 10 on its first flight. The wing shaped stealth bomber took off at approximately 7:00 am from Air Force Plant 42 in Palmdale California just after dawn and landed at Edwards Air Force Base in a short 90 minutes flight. Astoundingly, for an aircraft shrouded in secrecy, the test flight took place in broad daylight with many snapping photos of the venerable bomber from their smartphones as it flew overhead.

Accompanying the bomber on its test flight was an F-16 chase plane that accompanied the bomber during its entire short flight. Photos circulating on Social Media show the aircraft in ascent from Palmdale with its landing gears clearly unretracted with what appeared to be a lengthy cable trailing from the upper surface of the tail on the port side, near the exhausts. The short flight confirms Northrop Grumman’s prediciton that the bomber would fly before the end of 2023.

The first flight of the B-21 clears the way for the U.S. Airforce to issue a low-rate initial production contract for the bomber with Northrop Grumman. The Airforce plans to acquire 100 of the B-21 bomber at a cost of approximately $750 million per unit. The B-21 is expected to serve as the frontline U.S. bomber for the foreseeable future, providing the service with a long-range, survivable, stealth platform for deep penetrating strikes into enemy territories.