Artist's conception of the B-21 bomber. Northrop Grummon
Watch the B-21 Unveiling, Live
The rollout of Northrop Grumman's secret next-gen stealth bomber is slated for 8 p.m. Eastern on Friday, Dec. 2.
The curtain of secrecy that has shrouded the Air Force's next strategic bomber—a curtain that has preempted even photos during the plane's eight-year development—will finally be drawn back tonight. At least a bit.
A tightly controlled rollout ceremony for the B-21 Raider is scheduled for 8 p.m. Eastern time on Fri., Dec. 2, at Northrop Grumman's plant in Palmdale, California. Watch it here:
The stealthy jet—artists' conceptions make it look a lot like Northrop's tailless B-2 bomber—is to make its first flight sometime next year. The Air Force plans to buy at least 100 of the bombers.
But it's not publicly known how much they intend to spend to do so. The Pentagon’s 2023 budget request shows the Air Force plans to spend $19.1 billion on B-21 aircraft between fiscal 2023 and 2027, but the Air Force has not disclosed how many aircraft that money will buy.