U.S. Air Force Investing Billions to Boost B-21 Bomber Production

The service is also restructuring its Sentinel ICBM program after cost overruns and delays.

Published on Mar. 4, 2026

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The U.S. Air Force is making major investments to ramp up production of the new B-21 Raider bomber and overhaul its Sentinel intercontinental ballistic missile program. The service is providing $4.5 billion to Northrop Grumman, the manufacturer of both programs, to increase B-21 production capacity by 25%. The Sentinel ICBM program is also undergoing a restructuring after significant cost increases and a breach of the Nunn-McCurdy Act.

Why it matters

These investments in the B-21 and Sentinel programs are critical to modernizing the U.S. nuclear deterrent as the strategic environment evolves, with the expiration of the New START treaty and China's rapid nuclear expansion. The Air Force is working to ensure it can field these new capabilities on time and within budget.

The details

For the B-21 program, the $4.5 billion in new funding will be used to boost production capacity, with Northrop Grumman also investing $2-3 billion of its own. This is expected to increase the production rate from 8 per year to 10 per year. The Air Force is aiming to keep the cost per B-21 at $692 million. The Sentinel ICBM program has faced significant cost growth, with the infrastructure required to field the new missiles proving more challenging than initially expected. The program is undergoing a restructuring and will receive a new cost estimate and Milestone B approval by the end of the year, with initial fielding now expected in the early 2030s.

  • The Air Force expects the first operational B-21 to be delivered to Ellsworth AFB, South Dakota, in 2027.
  • The Sentinel program is expected to begin initial fielding in the early 2030s, with the Minuteman III ICBMs remaining in service into the 2050s.

The players

Northrop Grumman

The manufacturer of both the B-21 bomber and Sentinel ICBM programs.

Gen. Dale White

Recently appointed as director of critical major weapon systems to oversee the B-21 and Sentinel programs.

Adm. Richard Correll

Commander of U.S. Strategic Command, which oversees the U.S. nuclear deterrent.

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What they’re saying

“That keeps us with open options going forward, and at the same time, it keeps them in a production posture, which is what we need, especially if you consider what we might do in the future with that program.”

— Gen. Dale White, Director of critical major weapon systems (aviationweek.com)

“People say, 'Well, if you're spending all this money, how do you call it successful?' Because in this particular program, we manage the program against the government estimate of what we were willing to spend to get this capability, and we're still operating underneath that number... That has been our North Star, our guiding light, and technically it's kind of our contract with Congress because it's the acquisition program baseline.”

— Gen. Dale White, Director of critical major weapon systems (aviationweek.com)

What’s next

The Air Force expects to set a new plan for the Sentinel ICBM program by the end of the year, including a new Milestone B approval and more accurate cost estimate.

The takeaway

The Air Force's investments in the B-21 and Sentinel programs demonstrate its commitment to modernizing the U.S. nuclear deterrent in the face of evolving strategic threats. However, the Sentinel program's cost overruns and delays highlight the challenges of fielding such complex and critical capabilities on time and within budget.