B-21 Raider bomber conducts test flights at Edwards Air Force Base

The B-21 Raider stealth bomber is carrying out test flights at Edwards Air Force Base in California, the US Air Force has confirmed.

The B-21 flew on January 17, Air Force spokeswoman Ann Stefanek said in an email, according to Defense News.

It was not the first time the Northrop Grumman-made bomber flew since its arrival at Edwards in November 2023, but Stefanek declined to say how many flights it has taken or provide other details, citing operational security reasons.

“Flight testing 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 to provide survivable, long-range, penetrating strike capabilities to deter aggression and strategic attacks against the United States, allies and partners,” Stefanek said.

While the B-21 was unveiled with much fanfare in a December 2022 rollout at Air Force Plant 42 in Palmdale, California, the service and Northrop Grumman have since become more reticent about new developments in the highly classified bomber’s evolution. The War Zone first reported the B-21′s January 17 flight.

Photographs of the B-21 have shown its nickname Cerberus — the multi-headed hound that guards the gates of Hades in Greek mythology — stencilled on its landing gear door.

“Flight testing 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 to provide survivable, long-range, penetrating strike capabilities to deter aggression and strategic attacks against the United States, allies and partners,” Stefanek said.

While the B-21 was unveiled with much fanfare in a December 2022 rollout at Air Force Plant 42 in Palmdale, California, the service and Northrop Grumman have since become more reticent about new developments in the highly classified bomber’s evolution. The War Zone first reported the B-21′s January 17 flight.

Photographs of the B-21 have shown its nickname Cerberus — the multi-headed hound that guards the gates of Hades in Greek mythology — stencilled on its landing gear door.

Each B-21 is expected to have an average procurement cost of $692 million, and the program has a price tag of $203 billion over 30 years.

Test pilots told reporters at the B-21′s December 2022 rollout that a flight test program like the one planned for the B-21 will be a “massive undertaking.”

Northrop Grumman B-21 test pilot Chris Moss said at the time that pilots will be watching to ensure the Raider flies as expected, experience how it feels and confirm its systems work as intended. The bomber will record data that is transmitted to the ground for analysis, he added.