The B-21 Raider is coming, yet the Air Force will extend the service lives of the B-1B Lancer and the B-2 Spirit, Global Strike Command chief Gen. Stephen Davis said on September 16, 2026. Both bombers had been slated to retire in the early 2030s. Instead, the FY2027 budget puts $342 million into B-1 modernization from 2027 to 2031, keeping the Lancer relevant through 2037, and $1.35 billion into the B-2 over the same window with no retirement date listed at all. Davis gave no new retirement dates, and said B-1 and B-2 crews will be among the first to fly the B-21. This Apex Airpower analysis compares the three bombers in service today, the B-52 Stratofortress, the B-1B Lancer and the B-2 Spirit, and explains which one was supposed to retire first and why none of them did. The B-52 is being re-engined with Rolls-Royce F130s and fitted with a new AESA radar to become the B-52J, but a GAO report dated July 31, 2026 found 10 of 13 major B-52 modernization programs facing cost, schedule or performance problems. The B-1B carries the largest conventional payload in the American inventory and has the worst readiness of the three. The B-2 is the only penetrating stealth bomber in service, and only 19 remain. We also cover the Northrop Grumman B-21 Raider itself. Two test aircraft are flying at Edwards Air Force Base, a February 2026 deal raised annual production capacity by 25 percent, the program of record stands at at least 100 aircraft, and the first operational Raiders are expected on the ramp at Ellsworth Air Force Base in 2027. Then we look at the combat record behind the reversal, from Operation Midnight Hammer and Operation Epic Fury to the NATO Flexible Deterrent Option over Lithuania and Latvia, the B-1B departure from RAF Fairford and the Bomber Task Force at RAAF Base Tindal. KEY FACTS B-1B Lancer: 44 remain of 100 built, modernization funded through 2037 B-2 Spirit: 19 in service of 21 built, $1.35 billion planned for 2027 to 2031 B-52H Stratofortress: youngest airframe delivered in 1962, B-52J upgrade aimed at the 2050s B-21 Raider: first flight November 10, 2023, first operational aircraft expected at Ellsworth AFB in 2027 FY2024 mission capable rates: B-1B 43 percent, B-52 54 percent, B-2 near 55 percent Operation Midnight Hammer: seven B-2s, 14 GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrators, June 21 to 22, 2025 Sources referenced include Defense News, Air and Space Forces Magazine, GAO report GAO-26-109272 and Air Force Global Strike Command. Subscribe to Apex Airpower (@ApexAirpower) for analysis of US bombers, long-range strike and airpower strategy. #B21Raider #B1Lancer #B2Spirit #USAF
Source: B – 21 Raider Is Coming, So Why Is the Air Force Extending the B – 1 and B – 2?
