Western media are actively discussing the next publication on September 12, 2023, but now more detailed images of the new American B-21 Raider bomber. The publication coincided with a speech at the conference of the Association of Aerospace Forces (Air & Space Forces Association), Chief of Staff of the US Air Force Charles K. Brown (Charles Q. Brown). Although the first images of the B-21, showing the aircraft in a frontal projection, were made public in December 2022, it is noted that they were taken in a very controlled environment at that time, and no images from other angles have yet been provided.
Although the B-21 bomber is still far from ready for mass production, the images shown show a prototype airframe at Plant 42 in Palmdale (Palmdale, California), which belongs to the manufacturer Northrop Grumman. The pictures are clearly not fresh, and, according to the official website of the US Air Force, they were actually taken on July 31, 2022 – a few days after the prototype, as reported, was first put into operation.
New image of the B-21 Raider bomber
Noteworthy comments by experts from the new images draw attention to small side windows with a strange angle of inclination, which appear to be designed to minimize the radar cross-section of the aircraft. At the same time, it is expected that they will significantly limit visibility. The cockpit appears to be very small, significantly more cramped than that of the B-2 bomber, which is perhaps considered more acceptable for this newer aircraft due to its much shorter flight range and therefore shorter periods during which pilots will have to stay inside the machine.
New images of the B-21 show that the aircraft's air intakes are very deeply hidden in the hull. At the same time, the air intakes of the engines and the nacelle areas merge strongly with each other as an additional measure to reduce the radar cross-section of the bomber. Since the tailless bomber relies entirely on computers replacing the usual manual control of the electronic interface (fly by wire), sensors of air critical information for stable flight are located along the lower and upper parts of the fuselage.
According to observers, the new car noticeably lacks the complex sawtooth shape of the trailing edge, similar to the predecessor of the B-2, and the variable geometry of the "beaver tail" (a type of formation of the contours of the tail section of the fuselage of twin-engine jet aircraft with a gondola engine layout) in the center of the trailing edge. These elements were added later in the design process at considerable additional cost to improve the performance of the machine at low altitudes in response to advanced Soviet air defense technology. Thus, it is expected that the B-21 will not have the improved characteristics of the B-2 at low altitude, although the usefulness of this remains very doubtful today.
As you know, the B-2 Spirit is planned to be decommissioned in the early 2030s. It is believed that the replacement B-21 will provide a significant improvement in stealth capabilities. However, it remains unclear when the aircraft will be ready for operation, as the program has already faced significant delays. At a media round table on the sidelines of the Air Force conference on September 11, 2023, Air Force Secretary Frank KENDALL stated regarding the possible first flight of the aircraft: "We are still hoping for the first flight this year ...".
Comparison of designs B-2 (top) and B-21 (bottom)
In June 2021, it was announced that the first flight of the B-21 bomber, scheduled for the end of the same year, was postponed until 2022. However, due to ongoing problems, the date was postponed to 2023, and since then the possibility of the first flight in 2024 has become increasingly likely.
The delays faced by the B-21, experts do not consider unprecedented, since after the end of the Cold War, all combat aircraft of the US Air Force faced similar delays. Significant delays have increased the likelihood that a direct Chinese competitor to the B-21, the H-20 intercontinental strategic bomber, may begin entering service much earlier.
It is emphasized that over the past 20 years, China has consistently demonstrated the ability to put aircraft into operation much earlier after their first flights, which reflects the significant industrial advantages of its defense sector. Thus, the first Chinese fifth-generation J-20 fighter entered service in 2017, just six years after the first demonstration flight in 2011. Its American counterparts, the F-22 and F-35, took more than 15 years. Given that due to performance problems and cost overruns, the previous B-2 bomber program received 100 of the planned 120 production aircraft, it remains extremely uncertain whether the B-21 bomber program will prove to be equally problematic.
According to the materials of the resource militarywatchmagazine.com
