B-21 RAIDER ENGINE RUNS! B-21 is ALMOST READY! #b21 #b21raider #bombers #military, MASA Military
The U.S. Air Force’s next stealth bomber, the B-21 Raider, is conducting engine runs and remains on track for its first flight this year. At this year's Air & Space Forces Association's mega conference outside of Washington, D.C., Air Force Chief of Staff Charles Q. Brown revealed two new images of the B-21 Raider. While the stealth bomber was rolled out in December of last year, it remains cloaked in secrecy.
Until today, the public has only seen a head-on angle of the full aircraft in a very controlled environment. Aside from a close-up of the cockpit area, all imagery published since then has been from the same head-on perspective, progressively showing the aircraft in more detail. Now we have our first quarter angle view of the flying-wing jet, which provides significant details about its design. A new head-on image also gives us a better idea of the bomber's actual size. Both images were taken at Northrop Grumman's facility at Plant 42 in Palmdale, California.
We see the Raider change its shape to a fully functioning aircraft in these new images. The prototype has gone through extensive outfitting of the systems needed to actually fly.
The quarter angle view confirms a number of assumptions based on earlier imagery, concept drawings, program information, and inference. The smaller details are coming into focus.
The Raider has a flat, shelf-like extension that extends from its lower fuselage to its leading edge, giving it the appearance of a duckbill. This low-hanging feature is far more pronounced than what is found on the B-2.
Viewed from the front, the cockpit of the Raider is lower and the spine is higher. The huge inlet almost completely disappeared and is consistent with the upper surface of the wing. Compared with the B-2A Spirit's "cat ears", the exposed area of the Raider's air inlet is very small.
From the side, the design of the B-21 is almost the same as that of the B-2A, with obvious influence. It is worth noting that the front windshield and side windows of the Raider have a special stealth design. Although it looks strange when projected on the plane view, it is obviously parallel sawtooth. It is also necessary to pay attention to the machine. There are many small windows under the abdomen. The purpose of these windows is currently unknown, but they may be used for various advanced sensors. The Raider's side fuselage has a larger tilt angle than the Spirit. From this angle, the radar reflection area on the side of the Raider will be lower than that of the B-2A Spirit.
#b21 #b21raider #bombers #military #b2 #b2spirit #stealthbomber #stealthaircraft #stealthjet