• 'As Small as Insect': The B-21 Raider's Stealth Might Be Scary Good

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    from https://nationalinterest.org/blog/buzz/small-insect-b-21-raiders-stealth-might-be-scary-good-208226

    August 3, 2024 Topic: Security Region: Americas Blog Brand: The Buzz
    Tags: B-21 RaiderB-21StealthU.S. Air ForceMilitaryDefense

    'As Small as Insect': The B-21 Raider's Stealth Might Be Scary Good
    Featuring advanced stealth technology, the B-21 is designed to evade
    even the most sophisticated air defenses, with reports suggesting it
    could have a radar signature as small as an insect. The Raider, capable
    of delivering both conventional and nuclear payloads, represents a
    generational leap in military aviation.

    by Peter Suciu Follow PeterSuciu on TwitterL

    Summary and Key Points: In December 2022, Northrop Grumman unveiled the
    B-21 Raider, the first new strategic bomber in over three decades,
    poised to replace the aging B-1 Lancer and B-2 Spirit bombers.

    B-21 Raider

    -Featuring advanced stealth technology, the B-21 is designed to evade
    even the most sophisticated air defenses, with reports suggesting it
    could have a radar signature as small as an insect. The Raider, capable
    of delivering both conventional and nuclear payloads, represents a
    generational leap in military aviation.

    -With a planned fleet of over 100 aircraft, the B-21 will be pivotal in maintaining U.S. air superiority against global adversaries like China
    and Russia.

    What Makes the B-21 Raider Bomber So Special: The Stealth
    In early December 2022, aerospace giant Northrop Grumman officially
    unveiled the B-21 Raider – the first new strategic bomber to be revealed
    to the public in a generation and the first since the Northrop Grumman
    B-2 Spirit made its public debut back in November 1988.

    While similar in appearance to the B-2, the Raider is actually a
    generational leap in aircraft technology and development. The Raider was developed to be the multifunctional backbone of the modernized bomber
    fleet, gradually replacing the aging Rockwell B-1 Lancer and B-2 Spirit
    bombers now in service. A dual-capable penetrating strike stealth
    aircraft, the B-21 will be capable of delivering both conventional and
    nuclear munitions.

    The long-range bomber – named for the 80 men who took part in the World
    War II "Doolittle Raid" on Tokyo in the spring of 1942 – was developed
    using the aerospace firm's pioneering digital engineering practices and advanced manufacturing techniques together.

    The bomber has certainly captivated aviation buffs since its public
    unveiling. In November of last year, it made its maiden test flight in Palmdale, CA, where the bomber is currently undergoing testing.

    B-21 Raider

    The United States Air Force had previously announced that advanced
    notice wouldn't be given as to when exactly the first flight would
    occur, but the Raider had been undergoing taxi tests – and there was a
    chance its maiden flight could have occurred unexpectedly. That happened
    with the General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon nearly 50 years ago when
    it became airborne during a high-speed taxi test, a critical step toward
    an aircraft’s first flight.

    Though the service also didn’t publicize the event, about three dozen aviation enthusiasts and others gathered around Plant 42 and witnessed
    the flying wing-styled bomber take to the skies.

    "The B-21 Raider is in flight testing," Air Force spokeswoman Ann
    Stefanek confirmed via a statement. "Flight testing is a critical step
    in the test campaign managed by the Air Force Test Center and 412th Test
    Wings B-21 Combined Test Force."

    The Importance of the Stealth in the B-21 Raider
    As noted, the B-21 features a similar "flying wing" design to the B-2
    Spirit, yet as the Hudson Institute noted in a paper months back, "The
    Raider embodies decades of advances in stealth technologies, which are
    expected to have far outpaced advances in defensive systems. This is
    essential to winning a war with China. Many of the PRC's high-priority
    targets are deep inside Chinese territory and protected by advanced air defenses."

    The authors of the paper further emphasized that the B‑21 Raider's
    stealth would deny even peer adversaries like China or Russia the
    critical information they need to neutralize the bomber, while the
    pilots of the advanced strategic bomber would also be able to adapt and
    change targets during a mission.

    That could provide the B‑21 and its crews an advantage against
    time-sensitive and mobile targets.

    "The B‑21 can deliver large payloads accurately and in a timely manner
    to gain the initiative and halt an aggressive campaign against US troops
    or allies," the authors added. "The B‑21 provides flexibility, both
    mission flexibility (it can be equipped with a variety of payloads) and operational flexibility (it can be operated from a range of bases and locations)."

    Yet, the stealth does not mean that the B-21 would have the same similar operating cost as the famously pricey B‑2 Spirit. A key factor is that
    the United States Air Force operates only 21 B‑2s but intends to procure
    more than 100 of the cheaper B‑21s while increasing the size of the B‑21 fleet beyond the floor of 100 would drive down the O&S costs per plane.

    B-21: Stealth Signature as Small as an Insect?
    Since the aircraft's unveiling in late 20222, numerous reports have
    claimed that the B-21 Raider could have a radar signature as small as an "insect."

    The flying wing shape, along with its composite materials, is very good
    at absorbing radar, but as Air & Space Forces magazine reported last
    year, "[P]erhaps the most striking features of the B-21 are its slender, barely-there air intakes. Unlike the higher-rise, scalloped intakes on
    the B-2, the B-21's are almost organically a part of its wing root.
    That's good for stealth—radar loves abrupt angles and big cavities—but
    the intakes are so thin and shallow, they seem hardly big enough to
    swallow enough air to feed the B-21's engines."

    Yet, the inlet area can accept the required mass flow of air, which
    enables the engines to work fine. Likewise, while engine inlets appear
    big on radar, having them on top of the aircraft could further make the
    inlets invisible to ground radar.

    The B-21 is also expected to have a high flight ceiling, which could
    further make it difficult for radar to pick up the inlets.

    B-21 Raider

    Moreover, Northrop Grumman has continuously improved on its radar
    absorbent material coating – which is expected to be more resilient than
    the coating on the B-2 Spirit. That could allow quicker turn-around
    between sorties while reducing the radar signature.

    Whether the Raider actually is as small as an insect on radar isn't a
    known fact, the B-21 will likely be an aircraft that is truly difficult
    to track.

    Author Experience and Expertise: Peter Suciu
    Peter Suciu is a Michigan-based writer. He has contributed to more than
    four dozen magazines, newspapers, and websites with over 3,200 published
    pieces over a twenty-year career in journalism. He regularly writes
    about military hardware, firearms history, cybersecurity, politics, and international affairs. Peter is also a Contributing Writer for Forbes
    and Clearance Jobs. You can follow him on Twitter: @PeterSuciu.

    All images are Creative Commons and/or Shutterstock.


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