U.S. Air Force Recommends Single-Pilot Operations for B-21 Raider Stealth Bomber with AI Co-Pilot
- MM24 News Desk
- Nov 7
- 5 min read
Air Force Global Strike Command (AFGSC) has recommended the B-21 Raider stealth bomber operate with just one pilot alongside a weapon systems officer (WSO) instead of two pilots, according to Gen. Thomas Bussiere in a memo dated August 15. The recommendation strongly suggests the aircraft features advanced AI automation and autonomous capabilities that could eventually enable fully uncrewed operations, with the Air Force expecting to acquire at least 100 bombers before the end of the decade.
U.S. Air Force Global Strike Command (AFGSC) is recommending that the default crew for its future B-21 Raider stealth bombers include just one pilot. The other seat in the two-person cockpit would go to a weapon systems officer (WSO), or "wizzo," rather than a co-pilot. The prospect of single-pilot sorties for B-21s, something that on its face would raise safety concerns, strongly points to a high level of automation and AI-infused autonomy being present in the design now, which might one day open the door to fully uncrewed operations.
Having the B-21 designed from the start, well over a decade ago, to provide cutting edge automation, such as an AI agent as a "virtual co-pilot" for instance, would be a key groundbreaking feature. It would also support the cryptic claims the Air Force has made about how revolutionary the aircraft is, especially when it comes to what lies beneath its skin.
Aviation Week was first to report on the single-pilot B-21 crew recommendation, which AFGSC head Gen. Thomas Bussiere submitted in a memo to his superiors earlier this year. Last month, Bussiere announced his intention to retire "for personal and family reasons." AFGSC is expected to get a new commander today. To date, the Air Force has received two pre-production B-21s, both of which are currently at Edwards Air Force Base in California, supporting ongoing development and test work, reported The War Zone.
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"Air Force Global Strike Command has provided their recommendation regarding B-21 crew composition to the headquarters," Lt. Gen. Scott Pleus, director of staff of the U.S. Air Force and the service's acting Vice Chief of Staff, told The War Zone in a statement. "That document is pre-decisional. A decision has not been made."
"The recommendation included having one pilot and one WSO," an Air Force official also confirmed to The War Zone, but provided no further details.
The Air Force said it had no comments to offer at this time when asked if there was a timeline for when a decision might be made regarding the B-21 crew recommendation. Aviation Week reported that the service had at least been waiting for a new Chief of Staff to settle on a course of action. The Senate confirmed Gen. Kenneth Wilsbach as the 24th Chief of Staff of the Air Force on October 30, and he was formally sworn in today.
"Unleashing the Raider's full potential demands a complex blend of skills: airmanship, weaponeering, electromagnetic spectrum operations, sensor management, real-time battle management and agile replanning in combat," Bussiere had written in his memo, which was dated August 15 and addressed to top Air Force leadership, as well as the head of U.S. Strategic Command (STRATCOM), according to Aviation Week.
"For this reason, the B-21 will be crewed by one pilot and one weapon systems officer."
Bussiere's comments underscore that the B-21 is far more than just a bomber. On top of their ability to carry out deep-penetrating nuclear and conventional strikes, the Raiders will have an extensive suite of networking, battle management, electronic warfare, and intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities. The aircraft could also end up acting as forward aerial controllers for uncrewed platforms, among other missions.
The Air Force and Northrop Grumman also regularly tout the digital open mission system architecture forming the backbone of the B-21. This is designed to make it faster and easier to integrate new and improved capabilities and functionality down the line. The Raider is already understood to be designed to at least provide the option of a pilot-optional mode of operation in the future.
Overall, with the breadth of the B-21's capabilities in mind, Bussiere's recommendation to add a WSO, with their additional skill sets and the ability to focus on mission-specific tasks, to the Raider's crew is understandable. The issue is that there is only space for two individuals in the B-21's cockpit. In turn, having just one pilot onboard a Raider raises questions about safety margins, especially during extreme endurance missions.
The Air Force's existing B-2 Spirit stealth bombers also have two-person crews, but they consist of a pair of pilots. Furthermore, those bombers have a small cot, allowing for one individual to sleep while the other flies during portions of a sortie. The B-21 will likely feature a similar although more permanent sleeping space arrangement.
At the same time, the Raider is far more modern and automated than anything else currently in Air Force's disclosed inventory. With what is already known about the B-21's capabilities and underlying system architecture, AFGSC's new crew recommendation hints strongly at the aircraft having an extremely high degree of automation, if not some outright autonomy, in its present form.
Since the early 2010s, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has been notably supporting the development of AI "co-pilots" that could be used on helicopters and fixed aircraft to help increase safety margins and reduce workload for human pilots through a program called the Aircrew Labor In-Cockpit Automation System (ALIAS). ALIAS work has been centered on Lockheed Martin's MATRIX autonomy flight control software package.
Other companies, such as Shield AI and Merlin, have been developing similar autonomy packages and steadily growing their capabilities. An AI agent would offer a B-21 crew additional layers of redundancy and added safety margins, as well as just helping to reduce total workload, which could offset risks associated with having just one pilot.
Previously stated plans for the B-21 to be able to fly crewed or uncrewed lend further credence to the aircraft having a significant degree of autonomous capability now. The War Zone highlighted the Air Force's desire for the Raider to have an optionally-piloted mode back in 2017, after obtaining a heavily redacted copy of a Department of Defense Inspector General report titled "Audit of the Acquisition of the Long Range Strike Bomber," or LRS-B, dated September 8, 2015. Northrop Grumman was chosen as the winner of the LRS-B competition in 2015.
"Capable of manned and unmanned operations" is one of the few unredacted LRS-B requirements listed in the 2015 Inspector General report.
Fully uncrewed Raider operations could be advantageous in various operational contexts, especially due to the change in the risk calculus from not having anyone onboard the aircraft. There are various reasons why an aircraft might run into trouble beyond enemy action, and combat search and rescue (CSAR) operations put large numbers of personnel at risk as it is.
All that being said, fully uncrewed B-21 operations do still seem very aspirational at this point. Though the danger to a human crew would be eliminated, there would be significant risks associated with sending out such a high-value asset full of sensitive technology without anyone on board.
Testing of the B-21 otherwise continues apace following the delivery of a second flying pre-production example in September. The Air Force's stated goal remains to begin flying Raiders operationally before the end of the decade. The service expects to eventually acquire at least 100 of the bombers, but it looks increasingly likely that the final fleet size will be larger.
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