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Northrop Discloses Sale Of Company-Owned B-21 Test Asset To U.S. Air Force
A B-21 Raider test aircraft takes off in Palmdale, California.
Northrop Grumman says a previously undisclosed company-owned test aircraft has been sold to the U.S. Air Force as part of a production acceleration agreement for the B-21 Raider.
“To support the acceleration of aircraft deliveries, we agreed to sell an aircraft to the Air Force that was previously planned to be utilized as a company-owned test asset,” CFO John Greene said April 21. The deal boosts sales in the first quarter. It will not change the total number of B-21s that are part of the low-rate production phase of the program, Greene noted on the company’s first-quarter earnings call.
The Aeronautics division reported that sales in the first quarter increased by $469 million, or 17% higher than the same period a year ago. The increase partly reflects an agreement reached in February with the Air Force to expand B-21 production capacity and increase the production rate, Northrop says.
An Air Force spokesperson confirmed the B-21 purchase.
The Air Force funded six test aircraft as part of the engineering and manufacturing development phase, including two ground-test articles and four flight-test aircraft.
Two flight-test aircraft have been rolled out since 2022 from Northrop’s manufacturing center within Site 4 of the Air Force Plant 42 in Palmdale, California. Both of those aircraft displayed Air Force serial numbers, indicating they are government owned.
CEO Kathy Warden also said that company performance on the B-21 also gives her confidence around the U.S. Navy F/A-XX future combat aircraft pursuit where Northrop Grumman remains in competition with Boeing, with a decision due in August.
Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Daryl Caudle told reporters on April 20 that one of the two companies vying for the F/A-XX contract lacks the capacity to deliver the fighter on time.
“We are confident to deliver our solution to the Navy,” Warden said. “Our track record on B-21 demonstrates that ability to deliver a complex aircraft on schedule.”
Executing on the program, should the company win, would be a “top priority,” Warden said.
On the U.S. bomber program, Northrop previously reported two major financial charges related to ramping up B-21 production. A $477 million charge appeared in Northrop’s first-quarter results last year, which the company blamed on higher manufacturing costs. Northrop also reported a $1.56 billion pre-tax charge in January 2024, which covered reach-forward losses on the cost to build the first five lots of low-rate initial production aircraft.
In February, the Air Force agreed to spend $4.5 billion from the budget reconciliation bill passed by Congress in 2025 to accelerate B-21 production. Northrop added that it would invest another $3 billion to make internal improvements. That money will be primarily spent in the 2027-29 timeframe. Warden said it would enable a larger program of record.
Expansion should help drive revenue increases on the bomber program that now accounts for almost 10% of company sales and is expected to top that over the coming years. Northrop Grumman also said its estimate of program costs at competition remained unchanged.
“We are on a path through both testing and production for B-21 to arrive at Ellsworth Air Force Base in 2027,” Warden said.
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