USAF aircraft production accelerations in DoD bill include $4.5 billion for B-21

While shipbuilding and Golden Dome are both receiving $59 billion in the $150 billion Department of Defense reconciliation bill, U.S. Air Force aircraft programs also see a significant jump, including $4.5 billion to accelerate the Northrop Grumman B-21 Raider stealth bomber.

The House Armed Services Committee will mark up the reconciliation bill, which specifies $13 billion for nuclear deterrence, on Tuesday.

Last week, Northrop Grumman CEO Kathy Warden told investors that the company and the Air Force have agreed to provisions for a “manufacturing change” in the first five B-21 production lots to reduce risk, increase production rates, and set the stage for a possible increase in the number of planned bombers from the current goal of 100.

The five low-rate initial production lots cover 21 B-21s, while the following 19 will be under higher price, not-to-exceed (NTE) terms. Nevertheless, increases in the general procurement material costs and quantities could depress margins on the NTE planes, Warden said.

The B-21 is designed to have the dual capability of carrying both conventional and nuclear weapons, which the National Nuclear Security Administration is responsible for producing and maintaining. As of October, the 2025 Stockpile Stewardship Management Plan said that the B61-12 life extension program, which completed its last production unit in December, is continuing to certify the B-21 to carry the gravity bomb.

A version of this article was first published in Exchange Monitor affiliate Defense Daily.