B-21

By Steve Trimble
Most defense programs end up more expensive than planned, but the B-21 is still cheaper than the Air Force expected. Supporters say it is time to buy.
Budget, Policy & Operations

Air Force officials have not linked the NGAD review to a larger force structure study that affects the B-21, changes could arise from a host of pending reviews.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Brian Everstine
The U.S. Air Force now has three Northrop Grumman B-21 bombers in test.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Brian Everstine
Pentagon civilian leaders have reversed course on support for a submarine-launched, low-yield nuclear missile.
Missile Defense & Weapons

By Brian Everstine
Northrop Grumman expects to see a profit on the B-21 Raider program starting with its sixth production lot.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Steve Trimble
As fixed-price deals signed years ago continue to burden balance sheets, Boeing Defense and Space is focusing on smart growth opportunities.
Supply Chain

By Steve Trimble, Brian Everstine
Mounting losses have prompted greater caution among some defense companies as Pentagon officials stand by fixed-price acquisition strategies.
Farnborough Airshow

By Steve Trimble
Spirit AeroSystems is known mainly as a major supplier to the commercial aircraft assembly lines of Boeing and Airbus.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Brian Everstine
Future procurement costs of the B-21 Raider will be more favorable for Northrop Grumman.
Aircraft & Propulsion

Readers write about the B-21 as a tanker, the F-16’s reclined seat, redesigning the F-35, B-2 sightings and airline ancillary fees.
Aviation Week & Space Technology

By Brian Everstine, Guy Norris
The U.S. Air Force has shown the Northrop Grumman B-21 in flight for the first time.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Brian Everstine
The U.S. Air Force is reportedly looking to pre-position bombers across the Indo-Pacific.
Budget, Policy & Operations

By Brian Everstine
The U.S. Air Force will not repair and instead will divest one B-2 stealth bomber that was damaged in a ground accident, shrinking an already small fleet.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Steve Trimble
A reusable hypersonic Next-Generation Responsive Strike prototype could be commissioned by the end of the decade.
Aircraft & Propulsion

Continuing an annual tradition dating back to 1957, Aviation Week Network editors honored a wide variety of industry accomplishments.
Manufacturing & Supply Chain

By Steve Trimble, Brian Everstine
Facing a reduction to its expected budget next year, the military cuts back on near-term aircraft procurement.
Budget, Policy & Operations

By Brian Everstine
USAF is upping procurement spending on the B-21 Raider, though not as much as originally expected because of a favorable negotiated price with Northrop Grumman.
Budget, Policy & Operations

By Steve Trimble
A Boeing acquisition of all or part of Spirit AeroSystems could be, if consummated, a surprise coup for the former’s defense business.
Supply Chain

By Steve Trimble
A lighter-weight replacement is coming for the Massive Ordnance Penetrator as the Northrop Grumman B-21 Raider moves moves through flight testing.
Missile Defense & Weapons

By Steve Trimble
Northrop Grumman's estimates show that B-21 production costs through fiscal 2027 totals $17.4 billion, including a $1.56 billion charge revealed on Jan. 25.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Steve Trimble
The B-21 program will lose $1.56 billion combined on all bombers delivered during the first five annual lots of production, Northrop Grumman has revealed.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Brian Everstine, Steve Trimble
The Pentagon's top weapons buyer has given Northrop Grumman the go-ahead for low-rate production of the B-21 Raider.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Steve Trimble
The second acknowledged test of the B-21 came 68 days after the first flight from the public airport in Palmdale, California.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Brian Everstine
Faced with an expected influx of testing with current infrastructure and staff maxed out, Edwards AFB aims to reinvent itself.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Graham Warwick
Major events in aerospace and defense during 2023.
Aerospace