What is Northrop Grumman B-21 Raider?
The Northrop Grumman B-21 Raider is a highly advanced stealth bomber aircraft that is currently being developed for the United States Air Force (USAF). The B-21 Raider is intended to replace the aging fleet of B-1 Lancer, B-2 Spirit and B-52H Stratofortress bombers.
The B-21 Raider is being designed with a focus on stealth and survivability, using advanced materials, coatings, and shapes that minimize its radar cross-section. This makes the aircraft difficult to detect, track and engage by hostile air defense systems. The aircraft will also be equipped with advanced electronic countermeasures, allowing it to jam enemy radar and communication systems.
The B-21 Raider is expected to carry a payload of conventional and nuclear weapons, including guided bombs, cruise missiles, and other advanced weapons systems. The exact specifications of the aircraft's payload and range have not been disclosed by the USAF.
The development of the B-21 Raider began in 2014, and the first flight of the aircraft is expected in the mid-2020s. Northrop Grumman, the leading contractor for the project, has stated that the aircraft will be a game-changer for the USAF and its ability to conduct operations in contested environments.
Overall, the B-21 Raider represents a significant leap forward in terms of stealth bomber technology, and it is set to become a key asset in the USAF's arsenal in the coming decades.
Frequently Asked Questions about northrop grumman b-21 raider
The B-21 Raider is the world's first sixth-generation aircraft. This long-range, stealth-heavy bomber built by Northrop Grumman is capable of delivering both conventional and nuclear payloads.
The cockpit windows of the B-21 are unique to the aircraft, and designed to eliminate joints and seams to minimize its radar cross-section. In September 2022, the USAF announced that the B-21 was to be unveiled in early December 2022 at Northrop Grumman's production facilities in Palmdale, California.
This bomber is made of composite material with a radar-absorbent honeycomb structure. It also has a special coating with provides much of its stealth. It was designed using far more advanced computers than the B-2 and on the first look has more aerodynamic surfaces, while maintaining stealth.
The B-21 Raider is expected to serve within a larger family of systems for conventional long-range strike, including intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance; electronic attack; communication; and other capabilities. It is nuclear capable and designed to accommodate manned or unmanned operations.
Spot these differences
“Perhaps 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,” reports Air & Space Forces Magazine.
The B-21 is designed to be less expensive to maintain and will replace both the B-1 and B-2. The B-1 bomber is a supersonic heavy bomber. It was initially developed as a high altitude Mach 2 bomber (B-1A) but that design was never moved to production because it was volnerable to Soviet missiles.
Like the B-52 and B-2, the B-21 is designed to deliver nuclear as well as conventional weapons, making them “dual capable.” Bombers are the only leg of the U.S. nuclear triad that are able to be used for conventional or nuclear attacks.
The B-2's titanium parts are larger than any of those ever used on military or commercial aircraft. The B-2 also had to be sturdy enough to carry 40,000 pounds of bombs and missiles and light enough to fly 10,000 miles with one midair refueling.
The Air Force awarded the contract to build the B-21 - originally called the long range strike bomber - to Northrop Grumman in 2015, and the first rendering of the design was revealed the following year. The program passed its critical design review in 2018.
With a payload reduction of 50% but a wingspan reduction expected to be closer to 15%, the result is a slimmer aircraft that will be harder to spot on radar while still carrying a massive supply of fuel onboard - granting it unparalleled range and survivability when compared to any other bombers in service today.
Northrop Grumman and the US Air Force Introduce the B-21 Raider, the World's First Sixth-Generation Aircraft. PALMDALE, Calif. – Dec. 2, 2022 – Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC) and the U.S. Air Force unveiled the B-21 Raider to the world today.
The B-21 Raider boasts literally decades' worth of advancement in its approach to stealth, onboard avionics, and material sciences as compared to the B-2. “Fifty years of advances in low-observable technology have gone into this aircraft,” Lloyd Austin said.
