Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

US Supreme Court Lifts Order That Blocked Trump’s Mass Federal Layoffs

17 hours ago

Trump to Attend Club World Cup Final, FIFA Opens Office in Trump Tower

17 hours ago

Trump Says Pharmaceutical Tariffs Could Reach 200%

17 hours ago

Rescue Teams Find Three More Bodies After Central Texas Floods

17 hours ago

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Rigoberto Simental Aguilar

18 hours ago

Trump Says He Is Not Happy With Russia’s Putin, Considering Sanctions

18 hours ago

Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs to Be Sentenced on October 3

18 hours ago

Israeli Military Says It Struck Key Hamas Figure in Lebanon’s Tripoli

18 hours ago

Madera County Sheriff Logs 29 Fire-Related Calls on Fourth of July, Most in 5 Years

18 hours ago

Trump Says He May Take Over Governance of Washington, DC

19 hours ago
The Air Force's New Nuclear Stealth Bomber, the B-21 Raider, Has Taken Its First Test Flight
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 2 years ago on
November 10, 2023

Share

WASHINGTON — The B-21 Raider took its first test flight on Friday in California, moving the futuristic warplane closer to becoming the nation’s next nuclear weapons stealth bomber.

The Raider flew in Palmdale, where it has been under testing and development by Northrop Grumman.

The Air Force’s Future Plans

The Air Force is planning to build 100 of the warplanes, which have a flying wing shape much like their predecessor the B-2 Spirit but will incorporate advanced materials, propulsion and stealth technology to make them more survivable in a future conflict. The plane is planned to be produced in variants with and without pilots.

“The B-21 Raider is in flight testing,” Air Force spokeswoman Ann Stefanek said.

Such testing is a critical step in the campaign to provide “survivable, long-range, penetrating strike capabilities to deter aggression and strategic attacks against the United States, allies, and partners,” Stefanek said.

The B-21 Raider: A New Era

The B-21 Raider is the first new American bomber aircraft in more than 30 years, and almost every aspect of the program is classified. Both Northrop Grumman and the Air Force have tried to protect the program’s details to prevent China from gaining access to the weapon’s technology and building a similar version, as it has with other U.S. advanced weapons systems like the F-35 joint strike fighter.

The B-21 is part of the Pentagon’s efforts to modernize all three legs of its nuclear triad, which includes silo-launched nuclear ballistic missiles and submarine-launched warheads, as it invests in new weapons to meet China’s rapid military modernization.

Northrop Grumman Corp. is based in Falls Church, Virginia.

 

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Fresno Woman Sentenced to Prison for DUI Crash That Killed One, Injured Three

DON'T MISS

Union Files Ethics Complaint After College Chancellor’s ‘Goddaughter’ Receives $161K In Contracts

DON'T MISS

Fresno Police Arrest Suspect Tied to 2 Shootings, Firearm Recovered

DON'T MISS

Are Former Measure C Execs Pushing Their Own Ballot Measure?

DON'T MISS

San Luis Obispo’s Madre Fire Near New Cuyama Grows to 80,615 Acres, 35% Contained

DON'T MISS

US Justice Department Scrambles to Defend Its About-Face on Release of Epstein Files

DON'T MISS

US Supreme Court Lifts Order That Blocked Trump’s Mass Federal Layoffs

DON'T MISS

Trump to Attend Club World Cup Final, FIFA Opens Office in Trump Tower

DON'T MISS

Trump Says Pharmaceutical Tariffs Could Reach 200%

DON'T MISS

Rescue Teams Find Three More Bodies After Central Texas Floods

UP NEXT

Union Files Ethics Complaint After College Chancellor’s ‘Goddaughter’ Receives $161K In Contracts

UP NEXT

Fresno Police Arrest Suspect Tied to 2 Shootings, Firearm Recovered

UP NEXT

Are Former Measure C Execs Pushing Their Own Ballot Measure?

UP NEXT

US Justice Department Scrambles to Defend Its About-Face on Release of Epstein Files

UP NEXT

US Supreme Court Lifts Order That Blocked Trump’s Mass Federal Layoffs

UP NEXT

Trump to Attend Club World Cup Final, FIFA Opens Office in Trump Tower

UP NEXT

Trump Says Pharmaceutical Tariffs Could Reach 200%

UP NEXT

Rescue Teams Find Three More Bodies After Central Texas Floods

UP NEXT

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Rigoberto Simental Aguilar

UP NEXT

Trump Says He Is Not Happy With Russia’s Putin, Considering Sanctions

Are Former Measure C Execs Pushing Their Own Ballot Measure?

15 hours ago

San Luis Obispo’s Madre Fire Near New Cuyama Grows to 80,615 Acres, 35% Contained

16 hours ago

US Justice Department Scrambles to Defend Its About-Face on Release of Epstein Files

16 hours ago

US Supreme Court Lifts Order That Blocked Trump’s Mass Federal Layoffs

17 hours ago

Trump to Attend Club World Cup Final, FIFA Opens Office in Trump Tower

17 hours ago

Trump Says Pharmaceutical Tariffs Could Reach 200%

17 hours ago

Rescue Teams Find Three More Bodies After Central Texas Floods

17 hours ago

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Rigoberto Simental Aguilar

18 hours ago

Trump Says He Is Not Happy With Russia’s Putin, Considering Sanctions

18 hours ago

Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs to Be Sentenced on October 3

18 hours ago

Fresno Woman Sentenced to Prison for DUI Crash That Killed One, Injured Three

A 23-year-old Fresno woman was sentenced Tuesday to more than a decade in state prison for a 2021 drunk driving crash that killed one passen...

13 hours ago

13 hours ago

Fresno Woman Sentenced to Prison for DUI Crash That Killed One, Injured Three

13 hours ago

Union Files Ethics Complaint After College Chancellor’s ‘Goddaughter’ Receives $161K In Contracts

Jershawn Worthy was identified as the suspect in two Fresno shootings and is now facing multiple firearm-related charges. (Fresno PD)
13 hours ago

Fresno Police Arrest Suspect Tied to 2 Shootings, Firearm Recovered

15 hours ago

Are Former Measure C Execs Pushing Their Own Ballot Measure?

The Madre Fire near New Cuyama has burned more than 80,615 acres, injured one firefighter, and prompted multiple evacuation orders as crews work to contain the growing wildfire. (CalFire)
16 hours ago

San Luis Obispo’s Madre Fire Near New Cuyama Grows to 80,615 Acres, 35% Contained

U.S. financier Jeffrey Epstein appears in a photograph taken for the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services' sex offender registry March 28, 2017 and obtained by Reuters July 10, 2019. New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo
16 hours ago

US Justice Department Scrambles to Defend Its About-Face on Release of Epstein Files

A general view of the U.S. Supreme Court building in Washington, U.S., June 1, 2024. (Reuters File)
17 hours ago

US Supreme Court Lifts Order That Blocked Trump’s Mass Federal Layoffs

President Donald Trump holds the key to the FIFA Club World Cup trophy in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., March 7, 2025. (Reuters File)
17 hours ago

Trump to Attend Club World Cup Final, FIFA Opens Office in Trump Tower

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend