B-21 Raider will operate with 2-person crew

The U.S. Air Force’s new B-21 Raider intercontinental stealth strategic bomber will operate with a two-person crew, the Air Force announced Thursday.

“Following careful analysis of the B-21’s advanced capabilities, Air Force leadership determined that a two-pilot configuration optimally supports the aircraft’s mission profile,” the Air Force said. No additional information on the criteria for the decision was released.

It will maintain the two-person crew configuration of the B-2 bomber, which includes a pilot and a mission commander, who handles weapons and countermeasures. The mission commander is also capable of flying the plane.

The Air Force also flies the B-1 Lancer, with a four-person crew, and the B-52H Stratofortress, with a five-person crew.

The Air Force also said that it is establishing a “pilot transition program for select weapons system officers and combat systems officers who will be chosen to attend pilot training with a follow-on assignment to the B-21.”

Eligible officers will be provided information on how to apply, the Air Force said.

“It is imperative to retain the deep tactical and combat experience currently residing within the WSO and CSO communities,” the Air Force said.

The first two B-21 bombers are undergoing test flights at Edwards Air Force Base in California.

The Air Force plans to buy 100 of the stealth bombers built by Northrop Grumman Corporation. The Air Force has projected an acquisition rate of seven to nine bombers per year once production ramps up.

The first operational bomber is scheduled to be delivered to Ellsworth Air Force Base in 2027. The Air Force has announced plans to phase out the B-1 and B-2 as it receives new B-21 bombers over the coming decades.

The B-1 Lancer’s crew includes an aircraft commander, co-pilot, offensive systems officer and defensive systems officer.

The Air Force has said it plans to continue to operate the B-52H Stratofortress until 2050 and beyond. While the B-21 will be the primary bomber in the future, the B-52 will be used as a long-range weapons platform capable of launching ordnance far from intended targets.

The B-52 first flew in 1952. The approximately 73 B-52 airframes in the Air Force inventory are from the H series, built in the early 1960s, making the aircraft over 60 years old.

The Air Force has added updated avionics and other components to the Cold War-era bomber. A plan to switch its power plants to eight Rolls-Royce engines and upgrade the radar would result in the aircraft being designated B-52J once converted.

The first B-52H with the upgraded radar package crashed on takeoff from Edwards AFB on June 15, killing eight people on board, including Air Force officers, Air Force civilian workers and two contractors for Boeing, the builder of the original aircraft.

The cause of the crash is under investigation. The Air Force has said it is moving ahead with the radar upgrade program and will send another B-52H to Edwards once the system has been installed.

The bomber force is one “leg” of the U.S. nuclear “triad,” which also includes 400 land-based LGM-30G Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missiles and 14 Ohio-class nuclear-powered submarines each carrying 20 Trident II D5 submarine-launched ballistic missiles.

In addition to the B-21, the U.S. plans to modernize the nuclear triad with the next-generation LGM-35A Sentinel ICBM and the Columbia-class ballistic missile submarine.