The Air Force said on Friday that the B-21 Raider has completed a weapons-release test, moving the new stealth bomber from flight testing to what the service called “a functional weapons platform.”

During the test last week, a B-21 test aircraft flying from Edwards Air Force Base in California released a conventional weapon, validating its digital models and the maturity of its open systems architecture, according to the Department of the Air Force. The service did not identify the weapon.

“The B-21 is designed to deliver improved combat capability to the warfighter, combining reliability and maintainability to quickly integrate new weapons,” said Secretary of the Air Force Troy Meink. “This successful test demonstrates our ability to adapt rapidly and hold any target at risk if deterrence fails.”

Gen. Ken Wilsbach, the Air Force chief of staff, said, “This weapons test proves the B-21 program is excelling. We are building an impressive fleet that will give our joint force credible, penetrating strike options for decades to come.”

The Air Force said the test was built on thousands of hours of virtual modeling in the bomber’s digital twin environment, which allowed the B-21 Combined Test Force to speed weapons integration and refine the weapon’s trajectory before the aircraft left the ground. The program remains on track to have aircraft on the ramp at Ellsworth Air Force Base in South Dakota in 2027.

Northrop Grumman, which builds the aircraft, said it is ramping up production and testing. The company recently opened a manufacturing facility in Layton, Utah, and is expanding its final assembly line at Plant 42 in Palmdale, California, DefenseScoop reported.

The milestone comes a day after President Donald J. Trump wrote on Truth Social, “I rebuilt our Military in my First Term, and we’re doing it AGAIN, bigger and better than ever before!”