B21 Raider stealth bomber attracted attention from all over the world as soon as it was unveiled. But in addition to being smaller, cheaper, and stealthy, the Raider also has a rather strange window. The rear lower part of the front windshield has a sharp lower edge, the side windows are tilted upward, and the width of the a pillars is tragically wide, which results in the B21 stealth bomber having a very bad field of vision.
However, the US "Military Times" recently reported that Lieutenant Colonel Clifton Bell, a test pilot of the Raider stealth bomber , said: "Your body is very good at adjusting, B-21 The windshield of is not much different from B-2, so it shouldn’t be a problem.” It can be said that the B-21 test pilot’s statement was beyond everyone’s expectations, so is Bell’s statement the truth, or is there another reason?
EODAS can make up for the problem of insufficient field of vision, but the human eye is always the most convenient way of situational awareness
"Military Times" stated that was asked about B-21 When asked why the bomber windows are so strange and what impact such windows have on the field of vision, B-21 test pilot Lieutenant Colonel Clifton Bell said that he also noticed the problem with the shape of the windows when he first flew the B-2, but after an hour he could easily distinguish what was important and what was not important, and no longer paid attention to the windows. From what he saw, the B-21's windshield was not much different from the B-2's, so adapting to the Raider's field of view shouldn't be a problem.
Todd Harrison, a defense budget expert and managing director of Metrea Strategic Insights, emphasized that the B-21 Raider stealth bomber's peculiar window shape may be to maximize the B-21's stealth capabilities.
and B-21 has "optional manned capability" and can fly without a pilot, so the B-21 may enhance the pilot's situational awareness through cameras or other sensors, making the field of view less important.
This A-pillar is probably measured in meters
Whether it is an airborne radar, or a distributed optical aperture system (EODAS) that allows pilots to see through the aircraft body, and photoelectric aiming system (EOTS), , and the "helmet display sighting system" (HMDS) that can identify the pilot's intention and project the direction the pilot wants to observe on the mask... can greatly improve the pilot's situational awareness and solve the problem of insufficient field of vision of the fighter aircraft to a large extent.
But all man-made things are subject to failure, and it is unwise to abandon old things before new things are fully mature. Vision is always the most intuitive and reliable way of situational awareness.
The width of the A-pillar of the B-21 is so wide that it blinds the eyes. The blind spot is very, very, very, very large. It can be said that the pilot basically has no lateral vision. Even the lateral vision of the ocean liner is better than that of the B21. We also don’t understand, what should we do if EODAS fails?
When the missile was said to be victorious, the United States placed a high degree of confidence in its air-to-air missiles and canceled the aerial cannons of the F4 fighter jets. As a result, after the Vietnam War broke out, the United States discovered that air-to-air missiles either could not be locked, or were locked but were thrown off, resulting in the United States having to add aerial cannons to the ghosts in despair.
So now the United States is beginning to talk about the omnipotence of the Distributed Optical Aperture System (EODAS)? Do you think that the distributed optical aperture system can completely solve the pilot's field of vision problem, and the windows are just a decoration? A slightly better field of view is fine. A weird window with a poor field of view is not a problem at all. It’s basically useless anyway? If something breaks down, will it directly switch to unmanned driving mode? Is it ok for the pilot to just lay his seat flat and squint? Are the rear controllers required to operate the aircraft? ? ?
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