B-21 Production is speeding up, but how much and for how long is still unclear.

The $10.3 billion the Air Force and Congress want to spend on the B-21 bomber in fiscal 2026 will fund not only continuing development and fabrication, but increased production capacity, the service acknowledged. But USAF isn’t saying whether that accelerated manufacturing will buy more total B-21s than planned, buy the bombers faster … or both.

Previous budgets have indicated that B-21 production—based on a buy of 100 airplanes—could wrap up in the mid-to-late 2030s, suggesting a production rate of only seven or so airplanes per year. The Air Force was not immediately able to characterize by percentage how much increased capacity the 2026 budget would buy, compared with what it has today.

Northrop Grumman, which builds the B-21, telegraphed the move in April, when it took a $477 million charge on the program to cover unexpected materials costs and enable a speed-up in production, should the Air Force wish it. The company characterized the action as a “change in the manufacturing process.” Kathy Warden, Northrop CEO, called it a “process change” enabling “a higher production rate.”

The reconciliation bill language provided a total of $4.5 billion for a B-21 manufacturing capacity acceleration, and that amount is in the fiscal 2026 budget request, along with the Air Force’s ask of $3.4 billion for production and $2.3 billion in research, development, test and evaluation. The reconciliation amount was split, $2.4 billion for R&D and $2.1 billion for procurement.

The overall amount roughly matches the Pentagon’s budget overview, which says the B-21 would get $10.2 billion in fiscal ’26. Absent further spending forecasts, however, it’s not clear if the production capacity adds will be sustained.

Source: www.airandspaceforces.com

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