Northrop Grumman B-21 Raider (LRS-B)

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Looking at this and other threads, I think we need to stop putting so much emphasis on promotional renderings put together by interns on energy drinks.

They most likely just took an off the shelf 3D model which is cheaper and serves the purpose. And none of the renderings online will be 100% accurate.

I'd be very surprised if that's an actual photograph of a test article.
 
FighterJock said:
Looking at the picture for the B-21, has Northrop Grumman had to redesign the second B-21 after flight testing the first? Was that the reason why the second Raider's first flight test delayed?
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It could be possible of little modifications on production B-21
 
Try to turn on your brains and understand that this is simplified sanitized rendering of 3D model made for advertisment, the same used in recent video.
 

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Is this not a rather protracted development of the second aircraft? The first one has been flying over a year.
 
Unless I’m totally mistaken, that’s an f-16 flying next to a b-21 (or maybe some other flying wing aircraft) with their noses pointed more or less to the left frame of the photo. You can just make out the shape of the trailing edges of the b-21, if you zoom in, along with some control surface turned down under the left wing.
 
Josh_TN said:
Is the use of two static test articles uncommon? I think the B-2 program only had one.
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You need two static test articles. The first is used to apply static loads to make sure the structure is strong enough to withstand expected loads (limit loads), The loads are then increased to Ultimate (often 1.5X limit) to give you a margin for design/manufacturing errors. If the test article survives that they often increase loads until it fails. That extra strength can support future growth. Some of this testing must be done before flight.

he second test article is used for fatigue testing and a spectrum of flight loads are applied continuously to simulate the life of the aircraft. This takes a long time and any cracks/failures can be repaired and applied to the fleet
 
Calibration test is probably for RCS signature evaluation. These days I suspect a pole mounted mockup is not sufficiently representative?
 
MrTopaz said:
Unless I’m totally mistaken, that’s an f-16 flying next to a b-21 (or maybe some other flying wing aircraft) with their noses pointed more or less to the left frame of the photo. You can just make out the shape of the trailing edges of the b-21, if you zoom in, along with some control surface turned down under the left wing.
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Thanks mate.
 
16_incher said:
So is the new stealth coating white in color?
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IMO that should be the primer coat or temporary coating. But the white primer does give it a premium sense of mystique.:D
If I didn't messy up, the stealth coatings on each type of stealth aircraft differ slightly. The J-20 has a shimmering silvery finish, while the F-22 appears much heavier and more textured. The B-2 and F-35 both have a matte finish, though the latter get more metallic.
I'm very curious to see what the first operational B-21 will look like which might be very special, though I think its appearance will be kept under wraps for quite some time.
 
Excellent news Forest Green, now all Northrop Grumman has to do is get the third prototype flying by the first quarter of next year.
 
There are quite a few noticeable differences between the surfaces between T-1 and T-2. T-2 seems to have 'cleaner' panels. Topmost photo is T-1:
 

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