New images show America’s highly secret, $745-million stealth nuclear bomber taking to the air for what is apparently its first, publicly acknowledged, flight test.

The B-21 Raider was unveiled in December 2022, but the US government has so far been discreet about showing off this cutting-edge, radar-evading aircraft.

The sleek bomber was shown flying for the first time as it undergoes flight testing, in pictures released Wednesday, one crucial step before a minimum first order of 100 of these stealth craft can be approved for manufacture. The B-21 has been described as a ‘dual-capable bomber’ — able to launch both conventional and nuclear ordinance. This month, during testimony at the Senate Armed Services committee, Andrew Hunter, the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics, asserted that the B-21’s flight testing is currently on schedule.

‘We are in the flight test program, the flight test program is proceeding well,’ he said.

‘It is doing what flight test programs are designed to do, which is helping us learn about the unique characteristics of this platform, but in a very, very effective way.’

Assistant Secretary Hunter later explained that this is the first aircraft that is more digital than not, which contributes to the program meeting requirements.

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