Meet the B-21

a reply to: Zaphod58

I'm surprised no one has come out with a very high altitude long loiter craft that could carry alot of bombs.

And then it can just sit there above a target for hours and drop them when needed.

a reply to: grey580

It's called the B-52.

originally posted by: Zaphod58
a reply to: StargateSG7

That was the role it was to perform. It was launched and coordinated with another platform.

===

Would that platform be THIS ONE?

Top Secret Minotaur Craft:
files.abovetopsecret.com...

a reply to: StargateSG7

No. It would be the launch platform.

Would make sense.Launch a drone Cruise missile in,stealthily and lay down a swarm of drones to sow utter confusion and destruction upon thy target before coming up with the B21 for a strategic strike on whats left..Cuts down on reaction times and gets the whole operation over quickly and decisevely.

a reply to: StargateSG7

The whole point is that they can be launched from multiple platforms and land themselves.

In terms of sea launches; there is already thought going into things like Cormorant



All this info was posted multiple times by other people and discussed already (think there's a Minion/Minotaur thread currently resuscitated from 2010) so loads to search on.


Know I probably shouldn't but whenever there's talk of AI wingmen/modular system I go back and watch this vid:

.

Back to the B-21:

The penalty for biffing it on the B-21 contract for Northrop? $300M smackeroos.

www.flightglobal.com...

oops. To the US Air Force. not Northrop. PBKAC. damnit.

a reply to: anzha

Congresscritters are always good for a laugh. Fixed price to keep the cost down, but spend hundreds of millions to make it fixed price.

Dumbass.

a reply to: Jukiodone

You guys are getting off track. There are classified companion aircraft to the B-21 but nothing as exotic as you're thinking. It truly is being designed as a front line bomber with conventional front line capacity.

The real sexy stuff won't get anywhere near this program.

Also I'm hearing rumors that it could be named the B-21 Veteran.

originally posted by: aholic
Also I'm hearing rumors that it could be named the B-21 Veteran.

Because everyone knows what veterans want isn't a nice pension and a semi-competent VA and foreign-policy, but to have an angel of death named after them.

The big change is a longer bomb bay to carry longer bunker buster bombs.

the GBU-57A/B Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP) is a U.S. Air Force, precision-guided, 30,000-pound (14,000 kg) "bunker buster" bomb. and it just barely fits the length of the B2 bomb bay and the air force wants to add a rocket motor to it. But that will make the bomb to long for the B2.

originally posted by: aholic
a reply to: Jukiodone

You guys are getting off track. There are classified companion aircraft to the B-21 but nothing as exotic as you're thinking. It truly is being designed as a front line bomber with conventional front line capacity.

The real sexy stuff won't get anywhere near this program.

Also I'm hearing rumors that it could be named the B-21 Veteran.

I hope these "rumours" aren't from the same people that told you Lockheed already won the LRS-b competition and what the entrants looked like.

originally posted by: aholic
I think, the point is, and then I'm off to bed, that we all know who the winner is and what the birds look like already.
I hope that something changes and Grumman wins because it's the bomber we need and the bomber we can afford. (Plus it looks better

) But unfortunately I know that higher powers want them gone despite the incredible hardware they produce.

B-21 " veteran " horrible name ." what else ? the vintage bomber ?

If there is nothing exotic in the family , so what the exotic are for ? With the Texas and Wichita surely there is something else may be in another family who know ?

originally posted by: darksidius
B-21 " veteran " horrible name ." what else ? the vintage bomber ?
If there is nothing exotic in the family , so what the exotic are for ? With the Texas and Wichita surely there is something else may be in another family who know ?

...

So here is a list of what I've HEARD via hearsay,
anecdotal and general chit-chat amongst
"contacts" and "industry insiders" that
I can have or have had a beer with.

These are my "Kid's Drawings" as to
the VERY GENERALIZED SHAPES
that may be in the pipeline or
are in working order in terms
of secretive stealth platforms.

Here is the list of images all in one place:


files.abovetopsecret.com...

files.abovetopsecret.com...

files.abovetopsecret.com...

files.abovetopsecret.com...

files.abovetopsecret.com...

....and finally as a salute to software engineers
who can make a brick fly this is something someone
SEEMS to have thought up in the 80's....

files.abovetopsecret.com...

a reply to: Zaphod58

Oh that's interesting!

Bogdan expects the B-21 will help drive down the cost of the F-135 for the F-35.

www.flightglobal.com...

a reply to: anzha

The ADVENT core and some components are from the F135, so yeah, it should.

a reply to: Zaphod58

Does GE have a core being used for the ADVENT work (or similar program)?

Just asking cuz you know how I am about industrial base monopolies.

a reply to: Zaphod58

Does GE have a core being used for the ADVENT work (or similar program)?

Just asking cuz you know how I am about industrial base monopolies.

a reply to: anzha

GE/Rolls. They partnered.

a reply to: anzha

If the past three decades are anything to go by, GE/Rolls will debut an ADVENT-derived engine that takes the civil aviation world by storm and becomes the main engine for 787, A350, and A380 re-powers, as well as the launch engine for Boeing's 747 replacement. A miniaturized variant built in conjunction with SNECMA goes on to be the launch engine for the 737 replacement.

Meanwhile, some time down the line, Pratt and Whitney might get their civil variant out in time for it to be an option on the A320 replacement.