USAF receives second B-21 Raider stealth bomber at Edwards
September 12, 2025
The United States Air Force announced it has received its second B-21 Raider stealth strategic bomber. The B-21 is the cornerstone of the USAF’s strategic bomber renewal programme to ensure it is able to operate in contested airspace well into the 21st century.
USAF welcomes second B-21 prototype at Edwards
The second B-21 prototype arrived at California’s Edwards Air Force Base on 11th September. The USAF noted the arrival of this second aircraft allows the service to expand testing capabilities “beyond initial flight performance checks.”
The second aircraft enables the Air Force to progress into critical mission systems and weapon integration testing phases. The Secretary of the Air Force stated the aircraft allows the flight test campaign to gain “substantial momentum.”
Echoing Northrop Grumman’s website, the Air Force termed the B-21 a “sixth-generation stealth bomber.” ‘Generations’ is a category typically reserved for fighter jets; its use with strategic bombers could be a marketing ploy, or it could reflect convergence in next-generation combat platforms like the B-21 and F-47.
NEW: The second B-21 Raider stealth bomber (T-2) made its first flight.pic.twitter.com/VShmVaVWm3
— Clash Report (@clashreport) September 11, 2025
The B-21 will be able to penetrate contested airspace and carry both conventional and nuclear payloads. There is also talk about it being paired with loyal wingman drones like fighter jets, and even a debate about whether it would be able to be used in an air-to-air role.
B-21 Raider gearing up to enter service
While most prototypes are never put into operational service, the same is not true of US stealth bombers. For example, prototypes built for the B-2 Spirit programme were later upgraded and brought into operational service.
B-21 prototypes are very close to their future serial production counterparts, and they could even be pressed into service in 2026 if an urgent need were to arise. Currently, the B-21 is expected to enter operational service in 2027.
Concurrently with expanded flight-testing, fiscal 2026 will see the USAF launch infrastructure projects at all three designated B-21 main operating bases. The first base set to receive the B-21 is South Dakota’s Ellsworth AFB, and that base’s infrastructure projects are already underway.
For now, the programme remains largely on track and on budget, with aircraft being produced at a low-rate initial production.
The face of the USAF’s future strategic bomber fleet
The USAF had initially planned to purchase 132 B-2 Spirit bombers, but the end of the Cold War, together with the high cost of the aircraft, led to only 21 being procured, of which 19 remain in service after two were written off after crashes.
Faced with growing competition from China, the USAF is planning to purchase at least 100 B-21s and possibly as many as 145. As these enter service in large enough numbers, the supersonic variable sweep wing B-1 Lancer will be the first to retire by the mid-2030s.
Eventually, the B-2 Spirits will also be retired in the 2040s, although they are set to operate alongside the B-21 at least through the 2030s. Currently, the Air Force is spending a whopping $7 billion on a mid-life modernisation programme for its remaining 19 Spirits.
The geriatric B-52 Superfortress is currently being upgraded as a delivery truck to complement the much smaller and payload-restricted B-21. The lumbering B-52 can carry large payloads of long-range, stand-off munitions that it can fire outside of contested airspace.
