Northrop Grumman B-21 Raider (LRS-B)

[griml0ck122]

This could really be posted in a number of different threads considering its breadth of coverage.

Secret Bomber Programs Set For Possible Rollouts In 2021 | Aviation Week Network

Strategic bombers are enjoying a stealthy renaissance amid renewed competition among great power states: the U.S., China and Russia.

aviationweek.com

I wonder if this article has guessed right. I mean the b-21 has to come out in public soon (unless they want to truck it in pieces to A51) and it's only a matter of time until the H-20 or JH-XX show up. I however do not know if there are any significant national anniversaries in china that they would wait for but i also think that the PLAAF might just fly it around at random, for shock value.

 

[mkellytx]

This could really be posted in a number of different threads considering its breadth of coverage.

Secret Bomber Programs Set For Possible Rollouts In 2021 | Aviation Week Network

Strategic bombers are enjoying a stealthy renaissance amid renewed competition among great power states: the U.S., China and Russia.

aviationweek.com

I wonder if this article has guessed right. I mean the b-21 has to come out in public soon (unless they want to truck it in pieces to A51) and it's only a matter of time until the H-20 or JH-XX show up. I however do not know if there are any significant national anniversaries in china that they would wait for but i also think that the PLAAF might just fly it around at random, for shock value.

They won't truck it to Groom, it will fly out of Plant 42 north to ED and be housed on South Base. That facility is plenty secure and they've been updating it quite a bit since the time I worked down there.

 

[flateric]

I wonder if this article has guessed right. I mean the b-21 has to come out in public soon (unless they want to truck it in pieces to A51) and it's only a matter of time until the H-20 or JH-XX show up. I however do not know if there are any significant national anniversaries in china that they would wait for but i also think that the PLAAF might just fly it around at random, for shock value.

I wonder if you have tracked B-21 history or read this thread before "wondering".
First flight slipped from December 2021 to unknown date in 2022 (and it may well be 4Q) due to murmured system integration issues that popped up well before COVID made situation somewhat worse. So what is 'soon' in your definition?

 

[Josh_TN]

It seems possible B-21 could still rollout in 2021. It seems very unlikely anyone actually flies their next bomber that year however. The article that discusses all three aircraft says the initial PAK-DA is under construction which was news to me.

 

[TomcatViP]

Reading the post from @AN/AWW-14(V) about the last Boeing Laser containerized system, I was wondering if tomorrow will see the comeback of turreted bombers.
Imagine a chin and tail mounted laser turrets on the venerable B-52 or what kind of mount the B-21 will have.

 

[Foo Fighter]

Has the half payload capacity been proven yet?

 

[flateric]

Off-topic posts moved to more appropriate topics

https://www.secretprojects.co.uk/threads/usaf-to-retire-b-1-b-2-in-early-2030s-as-b-21-comes-on-line.30045/

https://www.secretprojects.co.uk/threads/arsenal-plane-concepts.28903/

 

[FighterJock]

Reading the post from @AN/AWW-14(V) about the last Boeing Laser containerized system, I was wondering if tomorrow will see the comeback of turreted bombers.
Imagine a chin and tail mounted laser turrets on the venerable B-52 or what kind of mount the B-21 will have.

I like the sound of Stealth Bombers (especially the B-21A) armed with laser turrets TomcatVIP, they could be able to use them as both offensive and defensive weapons.

 

[rooster]

Reading the post from @AN/AWW-14(V) about the last Boeing Laser containerized system, I was wondering if tomorrow will see the comeback of turreted bombers.
Imagine a chin and tail mounted laser turrets on the venerable B-52 or what kind of mount the B-21 will have.

I like the sound of Stealth Bombers (especially the B-21A) armed with laser turrets TomcatVIP, they could be able to use them as both offensive and defensive weapons.

Well how many MJ are you going to get out of a small ball turret laser to damage anything? Being youre not going to pump much energy into the beam you need a long time on target all the while the platform is bouncing about the sky..... Plus you need good weather as a weak laser is going to lose energy passing through clouds. An antimissile missile for large SAMs, yes. Laser weapons, no. I think theusaf would have fielded an antimissile laser platform by now if it were feasible.... The first application of a laser weapon on an airplane would likely be on a c130 gunship used to blind enemy combatants

 

[TomcatViP]

@rooster: lasing combatants eyes would be a violation of the Geneva convention. You don''t.

Sadly there is yet nothing that protects them against being fried alive by HPMW organs after organs.

 

[Josh_TN]

Actually a high altitude bomber would probably be an ideal environment for defensive laser technology in terms of weather, beam attenuation, and stability of the firing platform. I think such weapons would be limited to defensive close range engagements, but that would still be game changing if you could spit out tens of tons of ordnance without threat of counter fire.

 

[rooster]

An unstealthy retractable ball turret is all youre gonna get on a smallish B-21 that doesn't have enough power or stability to hold its narrow beam to a constant few sq inches on a missile to zap a mach 3+ missile. Space. Weight. Complexity. Heating and cooling aspects. Sensors. Not happening. It'll become unstealthy in order to open some doors and lower the turret. Not happening.

 

[rooster]

@rooster: lasing combatants eyes would be a violation of the Geneva convention. You don''t.

Sadly there is yet nothing that protects them against being fried alive by HPMW organs after organs.

At the very least optical dazzling isn't against the rules of what.

 

[TomcatViP]

When will the B-21 stealth bomber be officially revealed?

The B-21 Raider, the successor to the B-2 stealth bomber, may be revealed in an official rollout within the next 12 months.

www.aero-mag.com

Spirit Aerosystems, which builds the large composite aerostructures for the B-21 bomber, also manufactures structural components for the 737 Max. Since the halting of Max production, employees who would normally work on the aircraft programme have been boosting production of the B-21 bomber.

“The folks that are not manufacturing 737s and those components came over to our production line and really kind of beefed up — where people had some COVID issues — they beefed up that portion of our production,” he said. “Right now, the components that we’re building are really for the test fleet, but the good news: All of what we’re doing today is really insightful for what we’re doing for production in the future.”

 

[FighterJock]

When will the B-21 stealth bomber be officially revealed?

The B-21 Raider, the successor to the B-2 stealth bomber, may be revealed in an official rollout within the next 12 months.

www.aero-mag.com

Spirit Aerosystems, which builds the large composite aerostructures for the B-21 bomber, also manufactures structural components for the 737 Max. Since the halting of Max production, employees who would normally work on the aircraft programme have been boosting production of the B-21 bomber.

“The folks that are not manufacturing 737s and those components came over to our production line and really kind of beefed up — where people had some COVID issues — they beefed up that portion of our production,” he said. “Right now, the components that we’re building are really for the test fleet, but the good news: All of what we’re doing today is really insightful for what we’re doing for production in the future.”

I hope that the B-21 will be rolled out by the end of this year followed by first flight sometime early next year.

 

[RavenOne]

When will the B-21 stealth bomber be officially revealed?

The B-21 Raider, the successor to the B-2 stealth bomber, may be revealed in an official rollout within the next 12 months.

www.aero-mag.com

Spirit Aerosystems, which builds the large composite aerostructures for the B-21 bomber, also manufactures structural components for the 737 Max. Since the halting of Max production, employees who would normally work on the aircraft programme have been boosting production of the B-21 bomber.

“The folks that are not manufacturing 737s and those components came over to our production line and really kind of beefed up — where people had some COVID issues — they beefed up that portion of our production,” he said. “Right now, the components that we’re building are really for the test fleet, but the good news: All of what we’re doing today is really insightful for what we’re doing for production in the future.”

Hmmm reading this article on GA pilot flying edge of box on a jolly and wonderd laughingly if what he caught on camera of the scoot-and-shoot hangar could be the Raider. Looks Delta and smaller than B-2 as the usaf kinda hinted with a CHI it be smaller.

Let's Talk About This Intriguing Object Seen In The Scoot-And-Hide Hangar At Area 51

A recent photo taken of Groom Lake by a private pilot shows what appears to be a dagger-shaped object in one of the facility's aircraft shelters.

www.thedrive.com

 

[In_A_Dream]

There is no way to distinguish what we're looking at in that hangar.

 

[Sundog]

It definitely isn't the B-21, whatever it is.

 

[dark sidius]

I think more some sort of UCAV this hangar have 4 big antenna and the shape and size match more withe a figthter/UCAV.

 

[FighterJock]

Whatever that plane is in that hanger, it definitely is not the B-21 Raider, the Raider is going to be tested at Edwards Air Force Base. So it could be something else instead that is being developed in the Black World.

 

[Flyaway]

Whatever that plane is in that hanger, it definitely is not the B-21 Raider, the Raider is going to be tested at Edwards Air Force Base. So it could be something else instead that is being developed in the Black World.

If they left the doors open like that when they knew a civilian was flying over they can’t of considered it that important as far as concealing it was concerned.

 

[FighterJock]

Whatever that plane is in that hanger, it definitely is not the B-21 Raider, the Raider is going to be tested at Edwards Air Force Base. So it could be something else instead that is being developed in the Black World.

If they left the doors open like that when they knew a civilian was flying over they can’t of considered it that important as far as concealing it was concerned.

Unless security got caught out when the plane flew over and had no time to shut the hanger door. The pilot of the plane was extremely lucky to get the picture of the hanger with the with the plane inside. I wonder what happened to the pilot of the plane after he landed?

 

[Foo Fighter]

Disinformation possibly? Lots of reasons for that every day of the week.

 

[Mark Nankivil]

Whatever that plane is in that hanger, it definitely is not the B-21 Raider, the Raider is going to be tested at Edwards Air Force Base. So it could be something else instead that is being developed in the Black World.

If they left the doors open like that when they knew a civilian was flying over they can’t of considered it that important as far as concealing it was concerned.

Unless security got caught out when the plane flew over and had no time to shut the hanger door. The pilot of the plane was extremely lucky to get the picture of the hanger with the with the plane inside. I wonder what happened to the pilot of the plane after he landed?

Legal flight. Hangar, not hanger.....

Enjoy the Day! Mark

 

[FighterJock]

Whatever that plane is in that hanger, it definitely is not the B-21 Raider, the Raider is going to be tested at Edwards Air Force Base. So it could be something else instead that is being developed in the Black World.

If they left the doors open like that when they knew a civilian was flying over they can’t of considered it that important as far as concealing it was concerned.

Unless security got caught out when the plane flew over and had no time to shut the hanger door. The pilot of the plane was extremely lucky to get the picture of the hanger with the with the plane inside. I wonder what happened to the pilot of the plane after he landed?

Legal flight. Hangar, not hanger.....

Enjoy the Day! Mark

Sorry about the typo.

 

[In_A_Dream]

Whatever that plane is in that hanger, it definitely is not the B-21 Raider, the Raider is going to be tested at Edwards Air Force Base. So it could be something else instead that is being developed in the Black World.

If they left the doors open like that when they knew a civilian was flying over they can’t of considered it that important as far as concealing it was concerned.

They don't forget to close hangar doors at this place given installation/security protocol unless there's an anomalous event. To think they'd use Area 51 to taunt our adversaries in this manner, given the wealth of projects that haven't been declassified along with the amount of defunct projects that are laying buried out in the desert for disposal is a bit of a stretch. They don't want Area 51 to get anymore attention than it needs. Take claims from random "credible" individuals (RE: Dreamland Resort forum - where this rumor generated from) with a grain of salt.

 

[bobbymike]

Disinformation possibly? Lots of reasons for that every day of the week.

Wasn’t there an article recently about a type of information operation that “leaked” secret weapon details in order to get your opponents scrambling and spending money to counter?

 

[Fluff]

Disinformation possibly? Lots of reasons for that every day of the week.

Wasn’t there an article recently about a type of information operation that “leaked” secret weapon details in order to get your opponents scrambling and spending money to counter?

Yeah, who would possibly fall for that:

 

[dark sidius]

Disinformation possibly? Lots of reasons for that every day of the week.

May be Officials want this thing be seen, may be a message to Chinese or Russain, " hey guys look what we have!" May be the hangar doors open is a want to be. Surely they know very well that Gabe is in the air.

 

[bob225]

The WarZone article states this video was taken on Christmas day, does anyone seriously think this is something important just left outside of a hangar over the Christmas break?

If the doors were broken and it was anything classified surely they would of simply parked a truck in the way!

He has to file a flight plan and surely the duty security officer would check that the XFB 21C isn't just sitting in the open!

 

[kitnut617]

Click bait maybe ---

 

[TomS]

Click bait maybe ---

I think several commenters on War Zone have the right idea -- this is a shadow from the windows in the building, not an aircraft sitting inside it.

 

[flateric]

Hmmm reading this article on GA pilot flying edge of box on a jolly and wonderd laughingly if what he caught on camera of the scoot-and-shoot hangar could be the Raider.

If you think so, then you haven't read this topic at all...

 

[RavenOne]

Hmmm reading this article on GA pilot flying edge of box on a jolly and wonderd laughingly if what he caught on camera of the scoot-and-shoot hangar could be the Raider.

If you think so, then you haven't read this topic at all...

As I Said ‚laughingly‘ which meant in a humorous manner so Happy New Year FE

I agree probably nothing and as,any others have rightly stated A51 does not need to have any more attention as it is.

Cheers

 

[kitnut617]

Click bait maybe ---

I think several commenters on War Zone have the right idea -- this is a shadow from the windows in the building, not an aircraft sitting inside it.

Yes, I was looking at which way the building shadows were falling myself -----

 

[TomcatViP]

During a B-21 Industry Forum on Monday, around 600 people joined with Air Force officials, including John W. Henderson. Officials told local businesses about the expansion plans and the business opportunities that will go with it.

B-21 Industry Forum held for local construction, manufacturing businesses - KNBN NewsCenter1

RAPID CITY, S.D. — The arrival of the B-21 raider will have a huge impact on the Black Hills community. The expansion will bring about 1,400 airmen and their families to the area. Tom Johnson, President and CEO of Elevate Rapid City, says that the organization is in talks with seven businesses...

www.newscenter1.tv

 

[bobbymike]

Air Force Planning Hangar Construction for Future B-21 Stealth Bombers

The Air Force Civil Engineering Center and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers went over details and scheduling.

www.military.com

 

[RavenOne]

Number 2 airframe is under construction as first Flight is next year..

Second B-21 Under Construction as Bomber Moves Toward First Flight - Air Force Magazine

Production of a second B-21 stealth bomber is underway in Palmdale, Calif., while the first Raider is expected to roll out in early 2022.

www.airforcemag.com

 

[FighterJock]

Number 2 airframe is under construction as first Flight is next year..

Second B-21 Under Construction as Bomber Moves Toward First Flight - Air Force Magazine

Production of a second B-21 stealth bomber is underway in Palmdale, Calif., while the first Raider is expected to roll out in early 2022.

www.airforcemag.com

Good news concerning the second B-21 prototype, I take it that the first prototype is flying next year is due to Covid again?

 

[BillRo]

I think the article stated that the second airframe is the static structural test article.