Northrop Grumman opens new Utah site for B-21 Raider production

Northrop Grumman has inaugurated the East Gate 3 production site in Layton, Utah, to accelerate the manufacturing and development of the B-21 Raider stealth bomber. The new facility is part of a larger industrial expansion in the Layton and Clearfield areas, which now exceeds two million square feet of combined space.

The East Gate complex is expected to house up to 1,500 engineering and manufacturing employees by 2032. While the Layton site focuses on B-21 components and sixth-generation aviation, the nearby Clearfield facility produces composite structures for various platforms, including the B-21, the Sentinel ICBM, the F-35 Lightning II, and the Airbus A350 XWB.

The expansion aligns with federal efforts to increase B-21 production capacity. The U.S. Air Force has allocated $4.5 billion to boost annual production by 25%, with budget requests for fiscal year 2027 reaching over $6 billion. Final assembly of the bombers will continue at Air Force Plant 42 in Palmdale, California.