Air Force reports B-21 conventional weapon release test

The Department of the Air Force said a B-21 Raider test aircraft released a conventional weapon during a flight test last week, a milestone toward establishing the bomber as a functional weapons platform.

The aircraft flew from Edwards Air Force Base in California for the test. The Air Force said the demonstration validated the B-21’s digital models and showed the maturity of its open systems architecture, which is intended to support the integration of new weapons. Northrop Grumman, the aircraft’s manufacturer, said the program had demonstrated weapons-release capability.

The Air Force did not identify the munition or disclose the test’s precise date. It also provided no imagery of the release. The service said it could not provide further releasable details, citing operational security concerns.

Before the flight, the B-21 Combined Test Force used thousands of hours of modeling in a digital-twin environment to predict and refine the weapon’s trajectory, according to the Air Force. The service said the work supported the test and validated the models. The open architecture is intended to make it possible to integrate additional weapons over time.