New Images Show B-21 In Flight, Taking Off Amid Test Campaign

The U.S. Air Force has shown the Northrop Grumman B-21 in flight for the first time, releasing new images of the bomber as it undergoes testing at Edwards AFB, California.

Since its first flight and arrival at Edwards on Nov. 10, the bomber has flown multiple test flights, although the Air Force has only confirmed two.

In one photograph of the B-21 taking off from Edwards, the Air Force says the image was taken Jan. 17, the same day as the second publicly disclosed flight. In another photo of the B-21 flying high above the California desert, the service says it was taken on April 4. The images come as Congress debates the Pentagon’s fiscal 2025 budget request—the press release highlighting test progress was posted at the same time as the House Armed Services Committee was marking up its version of the fiscal 2025 budget request.

“We are in the flight test program. The flight test program is proceeding well,” Andrew Hunter, the service’s assistant secretary of acquisition, said in testimony on May 8. “It is doing what flight test programs are designed to do, which is helping us learn about the unique characteristics of this platform, but in a very, very effective way.”

The service’s fiscal 2025 request calls for $1.956 billion in B-21 procurement for an undisclosed number of bombers, a rise from $1.617 billion in the 2024 request. It also calls for $708 million in advanced procurement spending.

The image of the B-21 taking off provides a clear view of its large, upward-hinged, dual-actuated auxiliary inlet door open. The side profile of the B-21 in flight underlines the aircraft’s pronounced beak-like nose, which is horizontally aligned with the continuous sharp leading edge rather than slightly curved down as in the B-2A for improved aerodynamic performance across the flight envelope.

The views of the aircraft’s trailing edge show an upward deflection of outboard control surfaces that appears to confirm speculation that the B-21 builds on some X-47B-derived design features—such as the absence of split brake-rudder surfaces. The image appears to suggest inlay surfaces above the wing, with lateral control provided at slow speed by trailing-edge surfaces—of which the two outboard ones are shown here clearly deflected symmetrically during climb out.

While key designs of the B-21 appear different than the B-2, including the smaller cockpit windows featuring an upward-sloped side window, there are some other similarities. The side profile shows for the first time the aircraft’s receptacle for aerial refueling above the cockpit in the middle of the fuselage, the same location as the Spirit.