[12] A 2015 media report said the Air Force wanted the bomber to also function as an intelligence collection platform, battle manager, and interceptor aircraft.

[8] In 2016, then–Secretary of the Air Force Deborah Lee James said that the B-21 would be a "fifth-generation global precision attack platform" with networked sensor-shoot capability.

[16] Retired Lt. Col. Richard E. Cole, then the last living member of the Doolittle Raiders, was present at the naming ceremony at the Air Force Association conference.

[17] In March 2016, the USAF announced seven tier-one suppliers for the program: Pratt & Whitney, BAE Systems, Spirit AeroSystems, Orbital ATK, Rockwell Collins, GKN Aerospace, and Janicki Industries.

[21] In January 2020, Air Force officials released new B-21 renderings, showing the distinctive flush and blended inlets and the two-wheel main landing gear design.

[22][23] In February 2016, the head of the Air Force Global Strike Command said he expected the service would place an initial order for 100 B-21s and build up to a full fleet of 175 to 200.

[25] Assembly of the B-21 takes place at the United States Air Force Plant 42 near Palmdale, California, at the same facility Northrop Grumman used during the 1980s and 1990s to build B-2 bombers.

[29][30] At a congressional hearing in June 2021, Darlene Costello, the acting Assistant Secretary of the Air Force Acquisition, Technology & Logistics, confirmed that the first two B-21s were under construction at Plant 42.

[36][37][38] At the unveiling, Northrop CEO Kathy Warden said that the B-21 is designed with modular, open systems architecture to allow easy upgrades[a] and, potentially, the ability to export components to foreign buyers.

[1] In July 2016, the USAF said it would not release the estimated cost of Northrop's B-21 contract, asserting that the number would reveal too much information about the classified project to potential adversaries.

[55] In December 2022, an Australian Strategic Policy Institute report advocated the acquisition of a number of B-21 Raiders to enable Australia to have a greater long-range strike capability.

Additionally, the B-21 can attack targets from secure air bases located in Australia's south, with greater proximity to more personnel, fuel, and munitions.

When asked if the US would consider allowing Australia to join in developing the B-21 bomber, Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall stated, "I don't think that there's any fundamental limitation on the areas in which we can cooperate.

[60] As part of an Institute of Public Affairs paper released in August 2024, the first of six recommendations encourages the Australian Government to reconsider their position on the Raider, and stating that they should purchase it to reconcile a long-range strike gap should the AUKUS program have delays.

[67] Data from Aviation Week & Space Technology[69]General characteristics Performance Armament Related development Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era