The photo appears to show the B-21 Raider’s outer trailing edge control surface biased in the opposite direction, suggesting a different speed brake and drag management arrangement than the B-2’s familiar split rudder.
On June 3, 2026, the first prototype of the Northrop Grumman B-21 Raider flew a test mission at Edwards Air Force Base, California. Two KC-46s using the ARRIS callsign were also flying over a typical tanker racecourse and a Stealth Bomber was airborne using the radio callsign RAIDER17 as a Scaled Composites Hawker 4000 N639RA was operating in the same area using the radio callsign SCAT21. Both tankers and SCATs can be tracked online at ADSBExchange.
The B-21 was apparently not tracked online, but was clearly visible on the ground.
“The radar wasn’t on the tracker, but its orbit appeared to intersect with three other planes that were vertical. They all broke orbit when the radar called Edward Tower for a landing,” said photographer Fred Taleghani, who was near Edwards to take some images of “Cerberus” (the nickname for B-21 test item 0001).
In fact, B-21s have recently participated in air-to-air refueling missions, the first of which lasted 5 hours and 33 minutes over eastern California on March 10, 2026, and was recorded by several photographers who were able to capture incredible images of the first Raider prototype from behind a specially equipped tanker based at Edwards Air Force Base. On April 14, 2026, the U.S. Air Force publicly acknowledged that the B-21 Raider recently conducted an aerial refueling from a KC-135 as part of an ongoing test and evaluation program jointly with Northrop Grumman at Edwards Air Force Base, California.
As RAIDER17 landed, Taleghani got a good view of the landing gear and, most importantly, the B-21’s control surfaces, which served as speed brakes.
Unlike the B-2, the B-21 appears to be equipped with multiple individual external aft control surfaces. As can be seen in Taleghani’s photo, the outermost surface (also known as the elevon or flaperon – the latter definition may be inaccurate, as the surface appears to have no lift-enhancing features) appears to be deflected upwards, while the adjacent central outer surface appears to be deflected downwards. This suggests that the Raider’s flight control system may use differential deflection of adjacent surfaces rather than a simple B-2 style split drag-rudder arrangement.
Needless to say, the exact function of each surface and the associated control laws have not been made public, but the photos still allow us to “debunk” the simple observation that the B-21 used split drag rudders just like the B-2.
A few years ago we published an article with a video showing the movement of the B-2’s split rudder and elevon. As explained, since the aircraft has no vertical fins, split rudders and elevons are used to control aircraft rotation along the vertical/yaw axis, while pitch and roll are controlled via the (middle and inner) elevons. The split rudder also acts as a speed brake.
The B-2 Spirit also features unique exhausts and the Gust Load Alleviation System (GLAS), a wedge-shaped flap located in the center of the trailing edge. This looks like the aircraft’s beaver tail and counters rolling impacts or resonances, smoothing the B-2’s ride in turbulent conditions and extending the aircraft’s fatigue life. According to Air Force test data finite element analysis (FEA) modeling, the B-2 will remain structurally sound until approximately 40,000 flight hours.
Latest B-21 News
As recently reported, the U.S. Air Force and Northrop Grumman are moving to speed up production and delivery of the B-21 Raider, with the first bombers expected to reach Ellsworth Air Force Base in South Dakota next year. In fact, the U.S. Air Force and Northrop Grumman have already announced an agreement aimed at expanding production of new stealth bombers and shortening delivery schedules.
According to the most recent statement, the first aircraft is scheduled to be delivered to Ellsworth AFB in 2027, which will make it the first operational base of its type.
Preparations are already well underway in Ellsworth with several construction projects underway to support the launch of the new platform and provide the necessary infrastructure. The effort also included runway expansion work that forced the base’s B-1B Lancer fleet to temporarily relocate to Grand Forks AFB, North Dakota, last year.
Currently, an undisclosed number of B-21s are in production, with final assembly taking place at Northrop Grumman’s Palmdale, California facility, the same plant where the B-2 Spirit was built. The second B-21 prototype was delivered on schedule to Edwards Air Force Base, California, in September 2025. As noted at the time, unlike the first aircraft, it lacks the air data probes and trailing cones typically seen on prototypes in the early stages of flight testing.
