	Introduction

On October 27, 2015, the Department of Defense (DOD) announced its intention to award a contract to build the new Long Range Strike-Bomber (LRS-B) to the Northrop Grumman Corporation. Subsequently, the Secretary of the Air Force announced that the bomber would be designated the B-21 "Raider," in honor of the Doolittle Raiders of World War II. A large and flexible payload bay capable of carrying a full range of current and future armament. 2. Few technical details have been revealed. Procuring at least 100 B-21s will also reduce lifecycle ownership costs. The B-21 is intended to initially replace the 20 B-2 and 63 B-1 strategic bombers currently in the fleet. When the B-2 was procured in the 1990s, initial plans called for 132 aircraft. Oversight of Highly Classified Programs43

Like many defense technology programs, most of the B-21 program is designated as a Special Access Program. Due to the size of the B-21 program, its implications for defense budgeting, and other issues like the role of nuclear weapons in U.S. defense strategy, the B-21 may attract interest from Members not typically involved in such issues.
The Department of Defense is developing a new long-range bomber aircraft, the B-21 Raider (previously known as LRS-B), and proposes to acquire at least 100 of them. B-21s would initially replace the fleets of B-1 and B-2 bombers, and could possibly replace B-52s in the future.
B-21 development was highly classified until the summer of 2015, when the Air Force revealed initial details of the aircraft and the program. Although technical specifications and other data remain out of public view, many details of the budget, acquisition strategy, procurement quantities, and other aspects of the B-21 program are now in the public arena.
The Administration's FY2019 budget request included $2.31 billion for further development of the B-21. As passed, the FY2019 defense appropriations bill funded the program at $2.28 billion.
As a large defense program that involves issues of strategic and nuclear policy, as well as substantial expenditures, the B-21 is likely to be subject to significant congressional interest.