USAF B-21 Stealth Bomber Thread

[moonstone_laura]

Breaking News:

The U.S. Air Force will roll out its new B-21 stealth bomber the first week of December, the service's top weapons buyer said Tuesday.

Andrew Hunter, the assistant Air Force secretary for acquisition, technology and logistics, gave no more details, not even a location for the rollout, which is expected to mark the first public view of the aircraft, which has been developed in near-total secrecy. He spoke Tuesday at the Air and Space Forces Association’s Air, Space & Cyber conference outside Washington, D.C.

Northrop Grumman is building the B-21 at a factory in Palmdale, California. The aircraft is expected to make its first flight in 2023.

(Source: Defense One)

https://www.defenseone.com/threats/2022 ... er/377396/

[quid21]

Looking forward to that, just hope it's not quite so much of a B-2 clone to keep it interesting, but we'll see what their computers came up with

[turmo]

Aviation Week will be hiring a Cessna again, I presume, for the embargo-busting overhead shots!

[TonyO]

Aviation Week will be hiring a Cessna again, I presume, for the embargo-busting overhead shots!

Unfortunately not, we've looked into it, the airspace over Palmdale is now restricted, with big fines if broken.

[Ravendriver2008]

Here is the official N-G press release

https://news.northropgrumman.com/news/r ... -21-raider

Wonder if we will be pleasantly surprised when it is revealed. Think back to the F-117 when it was teased to the public with the DoD releasing an image which looked a shortened version of what it should look like. Revell dished out a model kit based on that photo, (i bought it) but when the 117 was physically revealed it was tad longer and sleeker.

cheers

[POL]

Unfortunately not, we've looked into it, the airspace over Palmdale is now restricted, with big fines if broken.

An IFR flight along the V137 airway to PMD at 5800ft should do the trick Though I'd expect a TFR to be put in place that makes the VOR off limits for a few hours.

[Crusty]

Its going to be more evolution than Revolution

[moonstone_laura]

A bit dramatic but still worth a look:

https://twitter.com/northropgrumman/sta ... 1853533184

[moonstone_laura]

Not long to wait now!

From 'Defense One':

Revealed: The Public Finally Gets to See the B-21 Stealth Bomber this Week

Tom Jones has spent a good portion of his career not being able to tell his family what he does at work. He recalls sitting at the dinner table one night 30-plus years ago, unable to share with his spouse that, just hours earlier, he was read into a classified military project. In the years that passed, Jones said, he’s grown used to not being able to provide details of what he does every day.

“I've been not able to talk about what I do at work for so much of my career, I guess I don't even really think about it that much anymore,” he said during an interview last week.

Now president of Northrop Grumman Aeronautics System, Jones has overseen one of the military’s most important, anticipated, and secretive U.S. military projects: the B-21 Raider stealth bomber. On Friday, inside a hangar in the California desert, he and the 8,000 others spread across 40 states who have been secretly building the Air Force’s new stealth bomber will finally get to show their family and friends what they’ve been working on the the past seven years.

“I think it's the first view of what's going to be a great capability for our country,“ Jones said.

The B-21 is different from other classified military programs in that its existence is openly acknowledged. Over the years, top U.S. Air Force officials have given crumbs of information about the plane. But aside from some benign conceptual images, relatively little is known about it. 

And while the first plane will be shown to the public on Friday, no one should expect many more details. The Air Force has kept much of the effort a secret so that China, Russia, and others are not able to copy the B-21 design or come up with ways to shoot it down. The plane has been designed with a new generation of stealth technology to evade radar detection. It eventually will be able to carry nuclear or conventional bombs and fly with or without pilots.

But beyond that, it’s mostly a mystery. Northrop executives said the project’s classified status prevents them from describing the B-21 assembly line in Palmdale, California, where the roll-out will take place.

https://www.defenseone.com/business/202 ... ek/380175/

[Alf]

Tom Jones has spent a good portion of his career not being able to tell his family what he does at work

Given that he works on military black projects

"It's not unusual"

Well somebody had to say it!!

[Col Nago]

Tom Jones has spent a good portion of his career not being able to tell his family what he does at work

Given that he works on military black projects

"It's not unusual"

Well somebody had to say it!!

Well I laughed!

[Supra]

Great link & very amusing comment Alf.

[Thunder]

I believe B-21’s primary weapon will be a larger version of the GBU-69 called ‘Sexbomb’

[toom317]

Isn't the B21 just an updated B2?

[Unknown74]

I guess I had a little chuckle as soon as I saw the chaps no name I sort of guessed the Not Unusual line would appear.

[Agent K]

Isn't the B21 just an updated B2?

No

[Seahornet1]

Isn't the B21 just an updated B2?

I guess you're basing that thought on the artistic renderings that were released a while back? Here's my thoughts on that...

Firstly, the renderings may well have been guesswork by the artist, or a deliberate 'red herring' to wrong-foot potential adversaries. Even then, when you look closely, the overall shape is rather different from the B-2.

Furthermore, even if the artwork was a genuine representation of the Raider's general configuration, it doesn't indicate any commonality in original design. After all, the basic shape and configuration of the Dreamliner and the A350 are not far removed from those of the 767 and the A300B.

Finally, at an apparent programme cost of $50,000,000,000+ (that's a lot of zeros!), you'd hope that they wouldn't be starting with a design that's nearly as old as the Austin Maestro!!!

[KevinJ]

Well it is designed to replace it, along with the B-1B, and any flying wing design is always going to look similar due to basic physics. Like civvie twin jets the computers all arrive at a similar shape because that's the most efficient aerodynamically. Internally though it'll be more advanced.

[TonyO]

Unfortunately not, we've looked into it, the airspace over Palmdale is now restricted, with big fines if broken.

An IFR flight along the V137 airway to PMD at 5800ft should do the trick Though I'd expect a TFR to be put in place that makes the VOR off limits for a few hours.

Unfortunately the rollout, or perhaps roll-in will either be inside or outside but in the dark.

[Col Nago]

Looks like Edwards AFB are doing a livestream for the roll out tomorrow (or very early Saturday morning for some of us)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=chJlJgrvfBY