By Tara Copp - The Associated Press
The B-21 Raider bomber conducted its first test flight on Friday, putting the futuristic fighter jet one step closer to becoming the country's next stealth bomber.
The Raider flew in Palmdale, California, where aerospace and defense company Northrop Grumman has been testing and developing it.
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The Air Force plans to build 100 of these fighter jets, 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 potential future conflict. The aircraft is planned to be produced in both piloted and pilotless variants.
"The B-21 Raider is in flight testing," Air Force spokeswoman Ann Stefanek said.
Such tests are a critical step in providing "penetrating, long-range, and survivable strike capabilities to deter aggression and strategic attacks against the United States, its allies, and partners," Stefanek added.
The B-21 Raider nuclear bomber, at a military exhibition in Palmdale, Calif., on Dec. 2, 2022.Marcio Jose Sanchez/AP
A long-awaited breakthrough
The B-21 Raider is the first new U.S. bomber in more than 30 years, and nearly every aspect of the program is classified. Both Northrop Grumman and the Air Force have sought to protect details of the program to prevent China from gaining access to the weapon's technology and building a similar version, as it has done with other advanced U.S. weapons systems, such as the F-35 joint strike fighter.
The B-21 is part of the Pentagon's efforts to modernize the three legs of its nuclear triad, which includes silo-launched nuclear ballistic missiles and submarine-launched warheads, while investing in new weapons to cope with China's rapid military modernization.
Northrop Grumman Corp. is headquartered in Falls Church, Virginia.
The Race Against China
NBC News previously reported that a Pentagon report on China's military power says Beijing is beating previous projections on how quickly it is amassing its arsenal of nuclear weapons and that it is "almost certainly" learning lessons from Russia's war in Ukraine about what a conflict over Taiwan would look like.
The report released Oct. 19 also warned that China could be pursuing a new intercontinental missile system using conventional weapons that, if implemented, would allow Beijing to "threaten conventional attacks targeting the United States."