Manufacturer brochure
Unveiling ceremony
This plane is essentially a ground-up "re-imagining" of the B-2 Spirit bomber. The B-2 was - and still is - a breathtakingly advanced design, pushing the limits of what current stealth technology is capable of. As a result, it is very expensive to build, and very expensive to maintain. For example, its earlier generation of stealth coatings require exquisite care, to the point of housing the bomber in a climate-controlled hangar to preserve it.
The B-21 Raider applies 30 years of lessons learned from the B-2 and other stealth aircraft in US inventory. It is smaller, cheaper, and much easier to maintain and upgrade. As a result, the USAF expects to purchase 200-300 of these planes over the next ten years. Compare with the very limited run of 20 B-2s.
The USAF intends the Raider to incrementally replace the other three strategic bombers currently in inventory: Its predecessor the B-2, the B-1B, and the venerable B-52.
The aircraft gets its name from the Doolittle Raid, an extremely daring long-range bombing mission flown against Japan, about four months after Pearl Harbor. This was the first attack by the US on the Japanese home islands. It was conceived primarily as a message to Japan, that they were not beyond reach of US retaliation.
It seems clear that the name of this bomber was chosen to echo that message. In his speech at the unveiling ceremony, Secretary of Defense Austin emphasized the plane's long range and its ability to strike anywhere in the world without requiring extensive logistical support outside the continental United States.
The plane itself looks very similar to the B-2, which is to be expected. It's long been known that a flying wing is close to the ideal stealth shape. While the unveiling actually showed us very little of the plane - we still haven't seen its wing shape or tail shape - it's fairly certain to appear in all respects like a refinement of the B-2.
Overall physical appearance aside, the plane's avionics and other systems are all new builds, designed with an open architecture for ease of maintenance and piecewise upgrading of individual components. The Air Force indicates that this plane is intended to support both crewed and uncrewed operation, and to support a wide range of missions including reconnaissance and drone management, in addition to the strategic bombing mission.
The Raider uses the same F135 jet engine as the F-35 Lighting II, reducing costs for both planes, and simplifying maintenance and logistics for the USAF. It also has only two engines, instead of the B-2's four. This should further reduce maintenance costs and increase fuel efficiency.
It may be noted that only three nations currently operate strategic bombers: The US, Russia, and China. So far, no other nation has succeeded in developing an operational flying wing design, and no other nation has developed a stealth bomber (strategic or otherwise).
I think one of the implicit messages to China, with this unveiling, is that there's more than one way to counter their attempts to develop a hypersonic "carrier killer" missile. One would expect the US to expend great resources to beef up the air defenses of their vaunted carrier strike groups. And certainly this is also happening. But here, the USAF is saying that they are prepared to play that game on a whole new level. A level where "carrier killer" missiles aren't even relevant, because carriers themselves aren't relevant. Not when the United States itself is the launch platform.
Regardless of politics and national chauvinism, the B-21 Raider represents a significant technological achievement, unequaled by any other nation so far.
Finally, it should be noted that the B-21 program is currently on time and on budget. And it's arguably not even the coolest thing Northrop Grumman has rolled out in the last 365 days or so.
Unveiling ceremony
This plane is essentially a ground-up "re-imagining" of the B-2 Spirit bomber. The B-2 was - and still is - a breathtakingly advanced design, pushing the limits of what current stealth technology is capable of. As a result, it is very expensive to build, and very expensive to maintain. For example, its earlier generation of stealth coatings require exquisite care, to the point of housing the bomber in a climate-controlled hangar to preserve it.
The B-21 Raider applies 30 years of lessons learned from the B-2 and other stealth aircraft in US inventory. It is smaller, cheaper, and much easier to maintain and upgrade. As a result, the USAF expects to purchase 200-300 of these planes over the next ten years. Compare with the very limited run of 20 B-2s.
The USAF intends the Raider to incrementally replace the other three strategic bombers currently in inventory: Its predecessor the B-2, the B-1B, and the venerable B-52.
The aircraft gets its name from the Doolittle Raid, an extremely daring long-range bombing mission flown against Japan, about four months after Pearl Harbor. This was the first attack by the US on the Japanese home islands. It was conceived primarily as a message to Japan, that they were not beyond reach of US retaliation.
It seems clear that the name of this bomber was chosen to echo that message. In his speech at the unveiling ceremony, Secretary of Defense Austin emphasized the plane's long range and its ability to strike anywhere in the world without requiring extensive logistical support outside the continental United States.
The plane itself looks very similar to the B-2, which is to be expected. It's long been known that a flying wing is close to the ideal stealth shape. While the unveiling actually showed us very little of the plane - we still haven't seen its wing shape or tail shape - it's fairly certain to appear in all respects like a refinement of the B-2.
Overall physical appearance aside, the plane's avionics and other systems are all new builds, designed with an open architecture for ease of maintenance and piecewise upgrading of individual components. The Air Force indicates that this plane is intended to support both crewed and uncrewed operation, and to support a wide range of missions including reconnaissance and drone management, in addition to the strategic bombing mission.
The Raider uses the same F135 jet engine as the F-35 Lighting II, reducing costs for both planes, and simplifying maintenance and logistics for the USAF. It also has only two engines, instead of the B-2's four. This should further reduce maintenance costs and increase fuel efficiency.
It may be noted that only three nations currently operate strategic bombers: The US, Russia, and China. So far, no other nation has succeeded in developing an operational flying wing design, and no other nation has developed a stealth bomber (strategic or otherwise).
I think one of the implicit messages to China, with this unveiling, is that there's more than one way to counter their attempts to develop a hypersonic "carrier killer" missile. One would expect the US to expend great resources to beef up the air defenses of their vaunted carrier strike groups. And certainly this is also happening. But here, the USAF is saying that they are prepared to play that game on a whole new level. A level where "carrier killer" missiles aren't even relevant, because carriers themselves aren't relevant. Not when the United States itself is the launch platform.
Regardless of politics and national chauvinism, the B-21 Raider represents a significant technological achievement, unequaled by any other nation so far.
Finally, it should be noted that the B-21 program is currently on time and on budget. And it's arguably not even the coolest thing Northrop Grumman has rolled out in the last 365 days or so.
via International Skeptics Forum https://ift.tt/ChFDVS3
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