B-21 Raider Completes First Weapons Test
The Air Force says the test moves the next-generation stealth bomber from flight testing to a functional weapons platform, with the first operational aircraft due in 2027
ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) - The US Air Force said on Friday that a B-21 Raider stealth bomber carried out its first weapons release test during the first week of November, releasing a conventional weapon over a test range.
The service said the test moves the aircraft from a flight test platform to a functional weapons platform.
A B-21 test aircraft took off from Edwards Air Force Base in California and released the weapon, it said, without naming the weapon or giving the exact date or place of the drop.
The B-21 Raider executed its first weapons release test, transitioning the sixth-generation platform from flight testing to a functional weapons system. The Raider is on track to become the future backbone of the bomber fleet and to have aircraft on the ramp at Ellsworth AFB, South Dakota, in 2027. Learn more about this milestone 👇 https://t.co/D4CCNRox70
— U.S. Air Force (@usairforce) November 13, 2026
The Air Force said the test confirmed that the bomber’s digital systems and its weapons-release mechanisms worked as planned, validating its digital models and open systems architecture, and showed that the aircraft can quickly take on new weapons. The test followed thousands of hours of virtual modeling in the B-21’s digital twin, which allowed the test force to speed up integration. “This weapons test proves the B-21 program is excelling,” Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Ken Wilsbach said.
Northrop Grumman, the manufacturer, praised the test force’s rapid pace in its own statement.
The B-21 is a sixth-generation strategic bomber built with stealth technology to penetrate dense, modern air defenses without being easily detected by radar, and to carry both conventional and nuclear weapons. The Air Force awarded Northrop Grumman the design and production contract in 2015, and the aircraft first flew on November 10, 2023.
Two pre-production aircraft are flying at Edwards, and the first operational B-21 is expected at Ellsworth Air Force Base in South Dakota in 2027.
The service plans to buy at least 100 and says it will announce a new target fleet size next year.