PALMDALE — The Department of the Air Force and Northrop Grumman broke ground Sept. 29 on a new final assembly line at Air Force Plant 42 to expand production of the B-21 Raider stealth bomber, according to a news release from the Secretary of the Air Force Public Affairs.
The groundbreaking begins construction of more than 1 million square feet of new facilities, the release states. The project is part of an agreement between the Air Force and Northrop Grumman that increases annual B-21 production capacity by 25%, an expansion the release says was announced earlier this year.
The Air Force is applying $4.5 billion in funding previously authorized and appropriated under fiscal year 2025 reconciliation legislation to speed production of the 100 aircraft in the approved B-21 acquisition profile, the release says.
“This groundbreaking represents more than construction,” Gen. Dale White, director of Critical Major Weapon Systems and direct reporting portfolio manager to the deputy secretary of war, said in the release.
Col. Nicholas Jordan, B-21 Systems program director with the Rapid Capabilities Office, said the Palmdale investment will provide the infrastructure, workforce and manufacturing capacity to deliver the aircraft at a higher rate, according to the release.
The release describes the B-21 as a long-range, penetrating strike aircraft designed to operate in highly contested environments. The aircraft is in flight test, and the program remains on track to have aircraft on the ramp at Ellsworth Air Force Base, South Dakota, in 2027, the release says.
Source: News release, Secretary of the Air Force Public Affairs, Oct. 8, 2026