Breaking: B-21 Bomber takes flight

[Asian.Century]

Amazing.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1722999048817283307

 

[NooriNuth]

So....when are they sending it to Afghanistan? A country which has no air defense, not even radars. Then call it "Battle tested aircraft"

 

[_killuminati_]

How they managed to get the engines that flat I have no idea. Remarkable engineering!

They aren't flat. Engine is still round but hidden inside the fuselage. Only the exhaust nozzle is flat, extended by a duct. The duct and nozzle are part of the airframe, not part of the engine.

See B2 for reference,

 

[Ali_Baba]

Soon it will be deployed here in UK at RAF Fairford.

Not for several more years i think.

 

[F-22Raptor]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1723036373244924361

 

[FuturePAF]

Where's the engine exhaust?

That’s just it. Cools air is probably drawn in and the exhaust is covered in heat absorbing tiles to lower the IR signature, similar to the B-2, but better.

 

[SecularNationalist]

Hypersonic weapons are in their infancy stages

Only in murica.

Has not helped Russia significantly in Ukraine…

Russia didn't employ them in the conflict.

 

[White and Green with M/S]

Only in murica.

China and Russia inducted immature hypersonic weapons to their arsenal without much testing

 

[MeFishToo]

Only in murica.

Russia didn't employ them in the conflict.

The Kinzhal is considered hypersonic by Russia, like any ballistic missile at some point midflight. Russia and China might be ahead announcing hypersonic success, but so far the US has atleast demonstrated russian talk of hypersonic superiority to be hyperbole.

 

[F-22Raptor]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1723050730498515033

 

[F-22Raptor]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1723150140054122747

https://twitter.com/x/status/1723150952964726864

 

[LeGenD]

Due to advancements in radar technology, early warning satellites, AI and super computing, i would be very reluctant to put my eggs in a subsonic system like the B-21, especially for nuclear delivery element.

US have deployed these technologies:

The Early Warning Radar stands guard

The Early Warning Radar is the cornerstone of missile defense for the U.S. and allies, and it’s easy to see why. The radar, also called EWR, can track more than 1,000 objects at the same time from more than 5,000 kilometers away. It can tell ballistic missile and air-breathing threats from...

www.rtx.com

But an F-35 could not be picked up while its transponder was switched off in a training sortie.

F-35 Jets Are So Stealthy That When One Went Missing, Even the U.S. Military Couldn’t Find It

Stealth, this incident makes clear, cuts both ways—especially when you consider a 16-ton F-35B fighter jet is the size of a golf ball on radar.

www.popularmechanics.com

What are the odds against an aircraft having broadband stealth capabilities?

Details in following link:

B-21 Bomber can penetrate Chinas most advanced air defense systems: US Senator

Well big difference between flown around and penetrate. Don't brag about it, try it and see. If we did, you would not know it. https://defence.pk/pdf/threads/f-35a-chinas-greatest-threat.765508/#post-14323680 When was the last time American tried a decent air force. Maybe none. But is...

pdf.defence.pk

These days hypersonic missiles are the most effective form of weapon delivery. Nearly impossible to detect and stop.
If you don't have it and your enemy has it. You are at serious disadvantage.

The Physics and Hype of Hypersonic Weapons

These novel missiles cannot live up to the grand promises made on their behalf, aerodynamics shows

www.scientificamerican.com

Hypersonic Weapons Can't Hide from New Eyes in Space

Tracking the missiles is like picking out one light bulb against a background of light bulbs, but new technology aims to see them more clearly

www.scientificamerican.com

 

[Fish]

No idea why Yanks have a hard-on for flying wing aircrafts. Even Nazis ditched them due to their instability and lack of air maneuverability. These things are essentially sitting ducks, once detected, so everything rides on their stealth capabilities.

Speaking of which, the 'stealth' capabilities of these types of aircrafts isn't exactly foolproof. Yugoslavian army was able to detect an F-117 - a so called "stealth bomber" - with their obsolete Soveit-era long wavelength radar, which was later shot down. From what I'm seeing, the 'Yugos' pinpointed its located the moment it opened its bomb bays:

This is how the F-117A was shot down in Serbia by a SA-3 (S-75) Goa SAM in 1999 - Defence Aviation

One F-117 has been lost in combat, to Serbian/Yugoslav forces. On March 27, 1999, during the Kosovo War, the 3rd Battalion of the 250th Missile Brigade under

www.defenceaviation.com

1999 F-117A shootdown - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

At over half a billion dollar a pop, I doubt the USAF would risk deploying these fancy B-21s in hairy situations. Plus, it'd be a one-way trip, if the 1999's incident was any indicator!

Also, multi-static radar systems are a thing (the reason Yanks ditched the F-117 in the first place, thought they won't admit it) and a country like China can surely afford a couple of 'em!

 

[LeGenD]

No idea why Yanks have a hard-on for flying wing aircrafts. Even Nazis ditched them due to their instability and lack of air maneuverability. These things are essentially sitting ducks, once detected, so everything rides on their stealth capabilities.

Speaking of which, the 'stealth' capabilities of these types of aircrafts isn't exactly foolproof. Yugoslavian army was able to detect an F-117 - a so called "stealth bomber" - with their obsolete Soveit-era long wavelength radar, which was later shot down. From what I'm seeing, the 'Yugos' pinpointed its located the moment it opened its bomb bays:

This is how the F-117A was shot down in Serbia by a SA-3 (S-75) Goa SAM in 1999 - Defence Aviation

One F-117 has been lost in combat, to Serbian/Yugoslav forces. On March 27, 1999, during the Kosovo War, the 3rd Battalion of the 250th Missile Brigade under

www.defenceaviation.com

1999 F-117A shootdown - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

At over half a billion dollar a pop, I doubt the USAF would risk deploying these fancy B-21s in hairy situations. Plus, it'd be a one-way trip, if the 1999's incident was any indicator!

Also, multi-static radar systems are a thing (the reason Yanks ditched the F-117 in the first place, thought they won't admit it) and a country like China can surely afford a couple of 'em!

Let us see.

F-117A (Sortie – Engaged – Loss) ratio in Operation Allied Force = 743 – 2 – 1

F-117A = 2nd generation stealth in American terms with limited sensor systems and without EW capabilities

B-2A (Sortie – Engaged – Loss) ratio in Operation Allied Force = 49 – 0 – 0

B-2A = 4th generation stealth in American terms with significant sensor systems and EW capabilities

Yugoslavian air defenses were able to shoot down only 2 combat aircraft of NATO in Operation Allied Force (F-117A = 1; F-16A Block 15 = 1). B-2A delivered significant blows to Yugoslavian air defenses and made it much safer for the other aircraft to operate over the country by extension:

During Allied Force, the air war over Serbia, six B-2s conducted 45 sorties out of 9,211 Air Force fighter and bomber sorties in the entire war—less than a half of one percent—but they struck 33 percent of the targets in the first eight weeks of combat.

B-2A is capable of penetrating an IMAD setup while passing through:

Source: The Radar Game: Understanding Stealth and Aircraft Survivability.

Geometric shaping of B-2A is a nearly perfect radar waves deflecting mechanism and VLO in true sense of the word because even the fuselage and tail fins are eliminated altogether. B-2A also features substantial amount of radar waves absorbing materials within the frame. Even the engines are completely buried within the frame and exhaust systems are located on the top. Sheer size of the aircraft provided sufficient room to accommodate incredible stealthy characteristics. B-2A ticks all the boxes of frustrating detection possibilities with a radar system (or even a network of radar systems) across a number of bands including VHF because its returns are weak even in the Mie or Rayleigh region where resonance effects are more pronounced. The upcoming B-21 Raider expands on this incredible design yet further, and to what extent would be an understatement.

B-2A makes it possible to attack, degrade, and destroy increasingly sophisticated defenses and infrastructure of a region in limited sorties. To bomb a country back to the stone age if necessary.

This comparison shows that just two B-2A are sufficient to produce "battlefield effects" that would take multiple aircraft to replicate otherwise. And there is no need to use refueling tankers for B-2A.

- Costs are reduced.
- Complexity is reduced.
- Probability of suffering losses is reduced.

 

[SecularNationalist]

The Kinzhal is considered hypersonic by Russia, like any ballistic missile at some point midflight. Russia and China might be ahead announcing hypersonic success, but so far the US has atleast demonstrated russian talk of hypersonic superiority to be hyperbole.

Oh come on kinzhal wasn't used extensively.

B-2A makes it possible to attack, degrade, and destroy increasingly sophisticated defenses and infrastructure of a region in limited sorties. To bomb a country back to the stone age if necessary.

Go supply it to Israel so they can bomb more children, women and elders in gaza.