Ellsworth Air Force Base has been home for the B-52 Stratofortress fleet for decades. Plus theB-1 Lancer and B-2 Spirit fleets. According to KOTA now the base will make ready for the next generation. The B-21 Raider Bomber.

KOTA is reporting the U.S. Air Force plans to retire its fleet of Rockwell B-1B and Northrop Grumman B-2 stealth bombers it outlined its future plans for the bomber fleet at its Black Hills base.

The new B-21 Raider is expected to come on line in the mid-2020s.

Col. John Edwards, 28th Bomb Wing commander, stated: “based off the Secretary of the Air Force's vector, those that are bomber bases now should expect to be bomber bases in the future. The Air Force will continue to work the details of fielding the B-21, but we can expect Ellsworth to be a bomber base in the coming years.”

The Air Force has seen its bomber force drop from 290 at the end of the first Gulf War, to 157 today.


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