The second B-21 Raider arrived at Edwards Air Force Base in the Mojave Desert earlier this month as flight testing of the stealthy, flying-wing bomber ramps up, the Air Force announced.

Northrop Grumman is building a fleet of 100 of the new aircraft — the nation’s first new strategic bomber since the nearly 40-year-old B-2 Spirit — at Air Force Plant 42 in nearby Palmdale.

“With the arrival of the second B-21 Raider, our flight test campaign gains substantial momentum,” said Secretary of the Air Force Troy Meink in a statement to the media. “We can now expedite critical evaluations of mission systems and weapons capabilities, directly supporting the strategic deterrence and combat effectiveness envisioned for this aircraft.”

Northrop Grumman confirmed that “the next phase of flight test

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