US Air Force Conducts Weapons Release Test of the B-21 Raider, Flying From Edwards Air Force Base in California Last Week
The Department of the Air Force said on Friday that it conducted a weapons release test of the B-21 Raider last week, in which a B-21 flying from Edwards Air Force Base in California released a conventional weapon.
The B-21 is designed to penetrate dense integrated air defenses and to deliver both conventional and nuclear munitions.
The development contract was awarded to Northrop Grumman in 2015, with programme partners including Pratt and Whitney, Collins Aerospace, BAE Systems and Spirit AeroSystems.
Air Force Chief of Staff Ken Wilsbach said the weapons test proves the B-21 programme is excelling.
The Air Force says the programme is ahead of schedule, with the first operational aircraft due at Ellsworth Air Force Base in South Dakota in 2027.
Source: Reuters
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：第二架 B-21 测试机 2025 年 9 月自加州帕姆代尔起飞赴爱德华兹空军基地（资料图，非本次武器投放测试画面）。美国空军供图，维基共享资源，公共领域。 / Photo: The second B-21 test aircraft departing Palmdale, California, in September 2025 (file photo, not the weapons test). U.S. Air Force photo, Wikimedia Commons (public domain).
