Recently, the U.S. military B-21 stealth bomber was unveiled at the large factory of Norg Corporation in , , California. Analysts pointed out that the B-21 "Ragger" strategic bomber is the first so-called "sixth generation fighter" of the US military and plays a crucial role in the US military's future strategic strike system. Therefore, its first public appearance immediately attracted high attention from the international community.
B-21 is regarded by the US Air Force as a "magic weapon" to change all rules of engagement. The
B-21 "Ragger" bomber project was first from the US LRS-B long-range strike bomber project around 2010. The project aims to develop a next-generation bomber that can replace B-2A and B-1B, in order to maintain the size of the US strategic bomber fleet and ensure the implementation of the US military's global deterrence strategy. In 2015, Norg won the bid for the LRS-B long-range strike bomber project, and then the US military gradually disclosed some basic performance requirements of the B-21 "Ragger" bomber, including low-cost, omnidirectional integrated defense, full-band stealth, a new generation of integrated avionics system and super strong penetration capabilities. However, analysts pointed out that the B-21 Raider bomber, as the "main force" of the US Air Force's future "facing the battlefield in the 21st century, is not just the above points.
As we all know, the development of aviation weapons is a continuous process, which is particularly evident in the United States. So far, the United States has developed three-generation strategic bombers represented by B-52, B-1B and B-2A, forming the main models of long-range combat. Each model has its own determined strategic uses and unique technical characteristics in the early stages of development. The US military has a very clear direction for the future combat needs of the B-21 Raider bomber, and this targeting is even a bit blatant. When the U.S. military conducted concept design before the LRS-B long-range strike bomber project (early concept designs called NGLRS "next-generation long-range strike system" or NGB "next-generation bomber"), it was clear that the imaginary enemy was a modern air defense network for China and Russia. The overall aerodynamic layout of
B-21 has not changed much compared with the B-2
1. B-21 is a high-penetration combat aircraft developed specifically for China and Russia
00. The US military requires the B-21 "Raider" bomber to become an important air-based strategic deterrence and long-range strike tool. In addition to having basic characteristics such as large range, large payload, networked coordination, independent combat, and flexible weapon configuration, it should also have strong stealth capabilities so that it can break through to the depth of the enemy's strict air defense system during wartime and destroy the enemy's strategic goals. Compared with the B-2 strategic bomber, which is known as the "ghost" for its excellent stealth performance, the stealth effect of the entire B-21 aircraft has been "revolutionally enhanced". The US claims that the B-21 can penetrate deep into the territory of these major countries under the high-intensity air defense system of China and Russia, penetrate the major countries' air defense system , and carry out precise strikes on the high-value targets of these countries. In the propaganda context of the United States, it is particularly worth paying attention to the combat capability of carrying out early warning attacks on major powers, flying with high penetration capabilities, and attacking high-risk, high-value-added targets.
US military attaches great importance to the penetration capabilities of B-21, which is an inevitable result of the confrontation between major powers.
It is worth noting that the US Air Force described the B-21 as a "very low detectability" design, rather than describing the "very low detectability" of fifth-generation stealth fighters such as F-22 and F-35. This proves from one aspect that the B-21 may adopt more systematic, more comprehensive full-band, omnidirectional stealth technology, which is completely ahead of the F-22 and F-35 generations in stealth technology, and can largely avoid being discovered by low-frequency radar, meter-wave radar and active passive multi-array radar, which is the main type of existing anti-stealth radar .
There is no doubt that the B-21 has specially optimized the modern anti-stealing technology of China and Russia, and even has a bit of a tailor-made flavor. Judging from the front photos currently released, the B-21 adopts the optimized design of the advanced stealth metamaterial and the engine air inlet and nozzle. The air inlet is so low that it is almost close to the fuselage, which significantly improves the forward stealth capability of this type of fighter.
B-21 can even "cover yourself" through the new generation of comprehensive electronic warfare capabilities.
In addition, the B-21 is also equipped with a new generation of integrated electronic reconnaissance and confrontation systems, and has the ability to implement comprehensive radio frequency control and management technology for the whole aircraft. It can also form a long-range strike "system cluster" with stealth reconnaissance drones and air electronic attack equipment, and can break through to advanced air defense systems in a strong confrontation environment in a "electromagnetic silence" as much as possible. Some American media even believe that after B-21 is in service, third-generation and fourth-generation air defense systems such as S-400 and S-500 will be completely eliminated. The air defense challenge it triggers will force China and Russia to invest huge amounts of money in research and development to deal with it.
2. B-21 will achieve scale and improve combat effectiveness based on maintainability, networking and low cost
In addition to significantly improving stealth capabilities, B-21 uses a new generation of long-life stealth materials and sealing materials, and its maintenance and deployment flexibility will also be better. Unlike the B-2 bomber, the working conditions for maintenance of are almost harsh, which ultimately leads to the actual combat effectiveness of B-2. In order to maintain the expensive stealth materials and skin structure of B-2, the maintenance work of B-2 even squeezed a lot of flight training time. Its attendance efficiency is criticized by the US military, and the B-21 has been comprehensively improved at this point. In fact, high attendance efficiency also means an improvement in combat duty capability, and improving attendance efficiency is about the size of the aircraft's fleet, which is also crucial.
B-21 is bound to lead the development of the next generation of stealth combat aircraft.
needs to be pointed out in particular. In order to significantly reduce development costs, the B-21 has not undergone large-scale modifications in its aerodynamic layout. In addition to meeting high-altitude bombing and further stealth modification, the B-21 adopts the B-2's tailless flying wing structure. In order to further reduce costs, the B-21's appearance size is slightly smaller than that of the B-2 bomber, and the payload is also reduced accordingly. However, the overall cost of the B-21 was successfully controlled to a low level, ensuring that the US military could purchase at least 100 aircraft. This satisfies the US military's fleet size requirements for the new generation of bombers and improves the US military's combat capability to engage in major power confrontations.
Finally, the strength of B-21 lies in its intelligent and networked combat capabilities. B-21 is a powerful distributed long-range sensor network and strike platform, which is a world of difference from B-2. Jones, director of the aviation system department of Norg Company, said that the B-21 was included in the US military's "all-domain joint command and control" system for the first time, and has the ability to share data across multiple combat platforms. It can become an air combat weapon that breaks into the depths of a major country's borders by installing long-range air-to-air missiles. The B-21 can launch a large number of air-to-air missiles to assist US fighter jets in seizing air-to-air supremacy . On the one hand, the US military uses the "all-domain joint command and control" system to coordinate the B-21 to become a "air arsenal", and on the other hand, it makes the B-21 a versatile player in intelligence reconnaissance and information relay. Analysts pointed out that the B-21 will greatly change the development direction of the world's existing air defense technology, and the new generation of Chinese and Russian air defense systems for the B-21 are on the verge of being on the string in the future.
