B21 Raider reveal

[Jolly Blue Giant]

I was excited to finally get to see yesterday's reveal of America's latest bomber. Super sophisticated - pilot or pilotless as a drone and less than half the cost of the B2 Spirit

Revealed yesterday after 7 years in the making (which is ridiculously record setting time)




Very intimidating look...sort of an evil Batman face...lol

Thought about making it my wallpaper, but didn't. Beautiful plane, yet deadly

[MightyGiants]

While they did let us "see it," much is not known about the capabilities of this new bomber.  In fairness, I would expect that.  For me, the only thing I wonder is if conventional bombers, even stealth ones, have a relevant role in today's battlefields.  I mean, I watch the war in Ukraine, and now I am wondering if tanks, at least in their current form, are still relevant. 

As a student of military history, I have seen many weapons, tactics, and weapon systems negated by technological advances.

In the case of bombers, you have drones and smart missiles, and hypersonic missiles competing to do the same job as the conventional bomber.   In many ways, the best argument is cost.  The cost of a bomb is usually less than, say, a missile.  Yet as the cost of the bombers goes up, you have to think how many missiles could be purchased for the price of the bomber and add the cost of the increasing price of the bombs (as they to have become "smart") to the equation.   

Of course, this bomber is nuclear, which means it contributes to the nuclear trade of ICBMS, Nuclear Missile subs, and Bombers.   I think there is some merit and argument about there being a benefit of three different delivery systems, as stopping one might be possible, but stopping all three is nearly impossible.

The other thought is that the increase in stealth ability also creates a counter to ever-better air defense systems.

[Jolly Blue Giant]

Electronically, the B-21 is far, far more advanced than the B-2. Just think of today's personal computers compared to the ones 30 years ago. The B-2 cost over 2 billion to manufacture and isn't easily upgradable, while the B-21 cost roughly half a billion and with open architecture, it can be upgraded whenever necessary. It is also going to be interfaced with our new Space Force and supposedly has an unbelievable flight ceiling...nearly orbital (if there's such a word)

I certainly don't know all the intricacies of the new bomber as most of it is top secret, and I am not an avionics expert or warfare expert. But here are a few comparison pics and write-ups from people far smarter than me





From Timothy Mills (Special Educator at Linwood Center) posted in Aviation and Aircraft:

"Why do we need the B-21, instead of merely restarting B-2 production?

The first part of your answer is that both Air Defenses, and stealth technology have evolved in the 30 years since the B-2 made it first appearance. The B-2 began life in 1976 as the Advanced Technology Bomber, using what was then cutting edge technology. For most of the early years, it was Top Secret technology limited to the ATB program. Computers today do things unimaginable when the ATB started. Believe it or not, the cell phone in your pocket has the same or more processing power as most of the computers used back then.

The B-2 was also originally conceived as a strategic nuclear penetrator for SAC. It was going to carry B-61, B-83, and AGM-131 SRAM II nuclear weapons to Moscow if World War 3 broke out. Geopolitically, our world has changed a great deal. While the US Air Force still has a strategic nuclear mission, it's nothing like it was in 1976. Today, the main strategic priority is long range, conventional precision strike. This shift in priorities is demonstrated by the fact that the B-21 program was originally called the Long Range Strike Bomber. The B-21 raider will almost certainly be optimized for the conventional role, as opposed to the nuclear one. While it will have nuclear capability, focusing the design on conventional missions should reduce cost without compromising effectiveness or quality.

Let's look back at the Original design for the B-2:

The top shows the revision, and the bottom is a model of the original design. Originally, the Advanced Technology Bomber was a high-altitude penetrator. High altitude makes bombers more fuel efficient, and extends the range of their sensors and targeting equipment. We've also learned that altitude aids in killing hardened or deeply buried targets. The longer an object falls, the more velocity it has until it hits its terminal velocity. Why is this important?

Bunkers, and other types of hardened sites, are very common for military command and control centers. The best way to take them out is using precision guided weapons falling at or very close to their terminal velocity. The GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator is one of these heavy bunker busters:

With this in mind, what we need is a stealth bomber optimized for high altitude missions. Simplifying the wing and internal structure, as is done on the B-21, will give engineers a much lighter, less complex internal structure, with greater room for fuel and bombs. Overall, this will make the Raider lighter and less expensive to build than the B-2, without compromising payload or range.

The B-21 will also use a modular design being developed with lessons from the B-2, F-22, and F-35 programs. Modular design will allow for far less expensive rapid upgrades. Computers that once took a day or two to replace and upgrade, can now be upgraded by sliding one board with microprocessors out, and inserting another in its place. This is called open system architecture. 30 years ago, we did not have the ability to build systems this way. This should cut the upgrade time for the B-21 by about 3/4 from the B-2. Imagine going from three weeks in Depot maintenance, down to slightly less than 1 week. For field commanders, this means the mission capability rate goes up dramatically. Bottom line is, a bomber only has strategic value when it is available to fly."