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Northrop Grumman is charging ahead with its B-21 Raider program, delivering solid test and production results following the award of Low Rate Initial Production Lot 2 in late 2024.
In a tight partnership with the US Air Force, the company has built the bomber with a sharp focus on adaptability, affordability and producibility – ensuring long-term success and a robust strategic deterrent.
Tom Jones, corporate vice president and president of Northrop Grumman Aeronautics Systems, said, “Our choice to build test jets on the actual production line is paying dividends. Entering Production Lot 2 in Q4 2024, our workforce has already come down the learning curve. We’re not just learning how to build the B-21 – we’re learning to build it better and at scale, optimising key areas for long-term efficiency and affordability.”
A cornerstone of the program is its cutting-edge digital ecosystem. From early design through to agile testing, engineers have harnessed this digital environment to trial production hardware, software and sensors. A flying test bed has completed over 200 sorties and more than 1,000 flight hours before the bomber even took to the skies. This approach has slashed the time needed to certify software by 50 per cent, with flight test teams now able to validate performance in real time rather than waiting days for post-mission analysis.
Jones said, “We only had to make one software change in the first year of flight testing – a real testament to the risk reduction work done in our labs and test bed. By combining a mature digital ecosystem with proven accuracy, we’re realising a level of efficiency and speed never seen before in a major acquisition program. Northrop Grumman is, in many ways, defining the future of DevOps.”
Backing this digital revolution is an investment of over US$2 billion (AU$3.15 billion) in infrastructure and development, creating a single, integrated source of truth that connects the entire B-21 team. This digital integration has not only improved configuration management but also trimmed manufacturing hours by roughly a third.
Further enhancements from augmented reality, advanced robotics and artificial intelligence are boosting planeside efficiency and quality, ensuring that production facilities are both secure and cutting edge.
Designed from the outset as a daily flyer with minimal turnaround maintenance, the B-21 leverages decades of stealth aircraft experience alongside the highly immersive virtual environment that lets engineers visualise future sustainment tasks. Early test flights conducted by the combined test force – which has managed several flights a week – underline the aircraft’s potential for rapid operational deployment.
Innovative manufacturing and digital technologies have enabled the B-21 to come in under the government’s affordability targets, all while meeting stringent technical and performance benchmarks. More than just a bomber, the Raider is built to adapt to emerging threats, capable of flying solo or working in tandem with a network of offboard sensors and platforms.
With production ramping up and fewer costly surprises on the horizon, Northrop Grumman’s blend of innovative tech and effective program management is setting the stage for sustainable success for the B-21 Raider.
