United States Air Force Gen. Dale White confirmed in a recent speech that the first B-21 Raider stealth bomber will join an operational squadron in 2027. White, who is tasked with managing the U.S. Air Force’s flagship weapons programs, told the Life Cycle Industry Days (LCID) conference in Dayton, Ohio, that the B-21 is ahead of schedule and will be “on the ramp” at Ellsworth Air Force Base in South Dakota as previously projected.
The long-range warplane has a central role in the ongoing modernization of the U.S. nuclear triad, which also includes the forthcoming Sentinel intercontinental ballistic missiles and the U.S. Navy’s Columbia-class submarines. The B-21 is intended to replace the B-1 Lancer and B-2 Spirit strategic bombers.
White, the direct reporting portfolio manager for Critical Major Weapons Systems, said congressional funding accelerated the B-21’s delivery date by 25%. The 2025 Budget Reconciliation Bill provided a one-time, $4.5-billion infusion for the bomber, according to a U.S. Air Force news release. The B-21 program’s productivity increase is “physical proof our warfighting-focused acquisition mindset can and will work,” White said. The Department of War has requested $6.1 billion for the B-21 program in its fiscal year 2027 budget proposal.
White said plans call for the production of at least seven operational bombers per year, according to the Stars and Stripes newspaper. The bomber is currently undergoing flight-testing at Edwards Air Force Base in California.
Northrop Grumman, the B-21 manufacturer, has begun initial production on the planned fleet of at least 100 of the bombers. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and U.S. Navy Adm. Richard Correll, Commander of U.S. Strategic Command, have both said the U.S. Air Force will likely need more than 100. During a recent earnings call, Northrop Grumman CEO Kathy Warden addressed the possibility of increased orders for the B-21.
“The agreement we reached with the Air Force does allow them to consider accelerating production into a larger program of record, and we are working with them in that analysis,” Warden said, according to military news website The War Zone. “They are undertaking it now. I expect that by year-end they will come to a conclusion on that, and we’ll certainly keep you updated.”
White told LCID attendees that the sixth-generation F-47 fighter is also progressing faster than expected. He said the F-47, which is also known as the Next Generation Air Dominance fighter, has entered its engineering- and manufacturing-development phase with “unprecedented maturity.” The phase includes maturing, integrating and testing all parts of the F-47, according to Defense News. It will produce test aircraft for evaluation and includes priced options for low-rate initial production.
“The F-47 will fly in this administration,” White said at the Dayton conference.