The B21 "Raider" is nomenclature gives a nod to the 16 members of Jimmy Doolittle's team of pilots from WW2 "Doolittle Raiders". It was the talk of attendees of the 2022 Reagan National Defense Forum at the Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley. B-21 Raider - Northrop Grumman
Northup-Grumman Secretary of the Air Force, Frank Kendall announced in September 2022: “As I speak, there are now five test aircraft being manufactured on the B-21 production line at Air Force Plant 42 in Palmdale, California". Conversely, in January there were two B-21 ready for completion, of which one flew above Palmdale almost a year later! The logistics of the B-21 are available at Northrup-Grummans website. December press releases from Northrup-Grumman reveal "Six B-21 Raiders are in various stages of final assembly and test at Northrop Grumman’s plant in Palmdale, California."
"Development on the B-21 Raider began in 2015 when the Air Force awarded the engineering and manufacturing development contract. The Air Force expects to acquire a minimum of 100 of the aircraft"
The Doolittle Raid, (April 18, 1942) consisted of 16 B-25 bombers from the U.S. Navy aircraft carrier Hornet in a spectacular surprise attack on Tokyo Japan. While modern historians contest there was little effect on the land and people of Japan, but it served to boost the morale of Americans.
On April 18, 1942, 80 men and 16 B-25 Mitchell medium bombers set off on what some said was an impossible mission, to change the course of World War II. The actions of these 80 volunteers, led by Lt. Col. Jimmy Doolittle, were instrumental in shifting momentum in the Pacific theater and setting the stage for victory at the Battle of Midway.
These men, dubbed the Doolittle Raiders, launched 16 B-25s off the flight deck of the USS Hornet, despite the plane not being designed for carrier operations. The raid acted as a catalyst to many future innovations in U.S. air superiority from land or sea. That bold, innovative and courageous spirit of the Doolittle Raiders has been the inspiration behind the name of America’s next generation bomber, the B-21 Raider, in development now by the U.S. Air Force and Northrop Grumman.
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