U.S. Begins Expanding Facility to Accelerate B-21 Raider Production
The U.S. Department of the Air Force and Northrop Grumman have broken ground on a new final assembly line at Plant 42 in Palmdale, California.
The Air Force press service reported that the project involves constructing more than 90,000 square meters of new production space to expand B-21 Raider stealth bomber production.
The facility expansion is part of an agreement between the U.S. Department of Defense and Northrop Grumman that calls for a 25% increase in annual B-21 Raider production.
To accelerate production of the planned fleet of 100 aircraft, the U.S. Air Force is providing an additional $4.5 billion in funding.
The B-21 Raider is a new American strategic stealth bomber designed to penetrate air defenses and conduct long-range precision strikes with both conventional and nuclear weapons.
The aircraft is currently undergoing flight testing, and the first production aircraft are scheduled to arrive at Ellsworth Air Force Base in South Dakota in 2027.
U.S. Strategic Command chief Adm. Richard Correll recently told lawmakers that he believes the planned B-21 fleet should be increased to 145 aircraft.
Source: Militaryni
