The Paper Staff Writer Tang Jun
On December 3, the U.S. Air Force officially unveiled the mystery of the B-21 stealth strategic bomber through a live video broadcast at Northrop Grumman, putting an end to speculation about the appearance of this bomber that was only known by its name but not its identity. So, what are the characteristics of B-21 bomber ? What combat mission will it undertake in the U.S. Air Force?
B-21 is highly similar to the B-2 bomber . It continues to use a low-detectability flying wing design, but the wing design is simpler.
adopts mature design to reduce costs and risks.
The B-21 bomber is the latest strategic bomber developed by the U.S. Air Force after 34 years since the launch of the B-2 bomber in November 1988. It is also the second stealth strategic bomber in the world after the B-2 "Ghost" bomber. It is one of the core weapons of the U.S. Air Force for future strategic strike missions.
In order to heighten the atmosphere, before the launch of the press conference, the U.S. Air Force's active "troika" - B-52H bombers, B-1B bombers and B-2 stealth bombers flew over the exhibition to add to the fun.
From the appearance point of view, the B-21 bomber is highly similar to the B-2 bomber, and continues to use a low-detectability flying-wing design. Based on information from all parties, the B-21 bomber is about 16 meters in length, has a wingspan of more than 40 meters, uses 2 turbofan engines , has a maximum take-off weight of more than 80 tons, a maximum range of more than 9,000 kilometers, and a bomb load of about 14 tons, while the B-2 bomber is 21 meters in length, has a wingspan of 52.4 meters, uses 4 turbofan engines, has a maximum take-off weight of 170 tons, a maximum range of 12,000 kilometers, and a maximum payload of 23 tons.
In order to further optimize the design and reduce the possibility of being detected by enemy radar , the bomber still has some obvious differences from the B-2 bomber in appearance. First, the engine air intake is designed to be more concealed. As we all know, the B-2 bomber adopts a piggy-back large S-curved inlet in order to improve its stealth capabilities. For strategic bombers with low mobility requirements, the backpack-type air inlet design has two major benefits: the radar electromagnetic waves emitted from below cannot detect the engine air inlet with strong infrared radiation characteristics, and the stealth effect is very good. Judging from the photos released by the U.S. Air Force, the B-21 bomber's inlet is lower than the B-2 bomber, and the wing-body fusion features are more obvious, further reducing the radar reflection cross-section area on the front of the body, and the stealth effect is better than the B-2 bomber.
A B-2A Phantom bomber undergoing aerial refueling.
Secondly, the bomb bay has a larger bomb bay volume. Although the B-21 bomber inherits the aerodynamic layout of the B-2 bomber and is smaller in size than the latter, the bomber's belly bulge is larger than that of the B-2 bomber, indicating that it can carry more types of ammunition, giving it multi-mission strike capabilities.
Finally, the cockpit windshield area is smaller. Although the B-21 bomber has the same four windshields as the B-2 bomber, the former uses a smaller windshield with a pentagonal design, while the B-2 bomber uses a quadrilateral design with a larger area. Reducing the windshield area can also reduce the radar reflection cross-section. Since the side windshield of the B-21 bomber is designed to be relatively low and not connected to the front windshield, the view from the cockpit of the bomber may not be as good as that of the B-2 bomber.
In summary, the main reason why the U.S. Air Force did not carry out a new design for the B-21 bomber and continued to use existing mature design solutions is that the B-2 bomber has proven its excellent stealth capabilities during more than 20 years of service and further reduced development costs and risks.
Compared with the B-2 bomber, the B-21, despite its size and take-off weight, has stronger overall performance than the B-2 and is not a shrunken version of the "Ghost".
Upgraded, performance improved significantly
Currently, the US military currently has 76 B-52H bombers, 62 B-1B bombers and 19 B-2 bombers. The scale is at a historical low since World War II , and the production of these three strategic bombers has been stopped.
Non-stealth combat platforms such as B-52H bombers and B-1B bombers, even if they are fully upgraded and equipped with new weapons, cannot guarantee that they will not be shot down when facing countries with complete air defense weapon systems. Although the B-2 bomber is currently the only stealth strategic bomber in the world and has no rivals at the technical level, because it was developed in the 1980s, coupled with the expensive construction and maintenance costs of 2.4 billion US dollars per aircraft, and the loss of opponents after the disintegration of the Soviet Union, the United States closed the production line after only producing 21 aircraft. The 19 aircraft currently in service cannot meet the combat needs of the US military.
The U.S. Air Force believes that in the face of future heavyweight opponents, existing weapons cannot form an absolute advantage over other military powers, and it needs a stealth strategic bomber that is cheap but still has powerful strike capabilities. In 2015, Northrop Grumman won the contract for the "Long Range Strike Bomber," the B-21 bomber, beating out Boeing and Lockheed Martin. During the design finalization stage of the
B-21 bomber, the United States emphasized that the bomber should use new stealth coatings, new avionics equipment, digital and intelligent features, and use mature technologies to reduce costs.
The new stealth paint used by the bomber is compatible with radar, infrared and visible light stealth features, and has full-spectrum stealth capabilities, that is, comprehensive defense against electromagnetic signals emitted by active radar, electromagnetic signal dissipation that may be detected by passive detection systems, and infrared and thermal radiation signals. In order to have better survivability in the future electronic warfare environment, the B-21 bomber also has strong anti-electromagnetic interference capabilities. In addition, the B-21 bomber may have similar battlefield awareness capabilities to the F-35 stealth fighter , using advanced airborne detection equipment to help pilots better perceive the battlefield situation and make optimal tactical planning.
In addition, the bomber also adopts an open architecture. In order to respond to the changing threat environment in the coming decades, the U.S. Air Force required rapid upgrade capabilities when designing the B-21 bomber, so that new technologies, capabilities and weapons can be seamlessly integrated through agile software upgrades and built-in hardware flexibility.
According to the plan, the U.S. Air Force plans to purchase 100 B-21 bombers, with the price of each aircraft being about US$600 million. The bomber is expected to have initial operational capabilities in 2030, to replace the severely aging B-52H bombers and some B-1 bombers, and will be deployed to multiple US air force bases around the world.
The US military has only released a frontal image of the B-21, and more images of what it looks like will be released later.
Multi-purpose strike, capable of performing more dangerous missions
Today, with the continuous development of radar detection technology, bombers with stealth capabilities are the "killer weapon" to avoid being detected by enemy radar systems and carry out precise strikes deep into the hinterland. For example, during the U.S. military's military strike against Iraq in 2003, B-2 stealth bombers were dispatched to conduct precise strikes against Iraqi ground targets. Facing the B-2 bomber with stealth capabilities, Iraq's ground-based air defense radar system became a display. Not only was it unable to detect the bomber, but it was also ruthlessly destroyed, reflecting the importance of stealth bombers in modern warfare.
U.S. Air Force spokesman Stefanek previously said that the B-21 bomber will become the core of the U.S. military's strategic bomber force in the future, and its range, performance, and weapon carrying capabilities are sufficient to penetrate the most competitive threat environment. In order to meet this requirement, the U.S. Air Force has given the B-21 bomber greater ammunition expansion capabilities. At the beginning of the design, it emphasized that the magazine must be able to carry and be compatible with the current mainstream air-launched/air-dropped ammunition of the U.S. military and the mainstream air-launched/air-dropped ammunition developed in the future. In particular, space must be reserved for air-launched hypersonic missiles. This is why the "belly" of the B-21 bomber is significantly larger than that of the B-2 bomber.
At the same time, with the development of artificial intelligence technology, the US military also plans to develop stealth unmanned fighter jets similar to the B-21 bomber. Compared with the manned B-21 bomber, the stealth unmanned fighter jet does not need to consider the pilot's physical endurance, can have more extreme flight performance, and can perform more dangerous missions. It can be used in conjunction with the B-21 bomber to give it stronger combat capabilities.
The U.S. Air Force hopes that the B-21 bomber will have standoff firepower delivery and anti-ship capabilities in future wars, as well as the ability to carry out precision strikes against targets such as enemy industrial centers, weapons assembly locations, and military command structures in depth.
The B-21 bomber has stronger ammunition expansion capabilities. How to counter
? Both offense and defense are indispensable.
As a symbol of the strength of a major military power, the strategic bomber is a member of the "Trinity" nuclear force. Its combat capabilities and deterrent power cannot be replaced by ordinary weapons. At present, countries including the United States, Russia and other countries are actively developing new strategic bombers and upgrading existing bombers. One of the development trends is to have stealth capabilities.
In addition, as the modern air defense systems built by major military powers in the world are increasingly improving, the combat missions and penetration methods of strategic bombers are also changing. The past method of relying on a certain weapon to fight alone is no longer effective. A system of joint operations with multiple weapons and multiple platforms will be the main method of future wars.
Looking at the performance of the B-21 bomber alone, although it is technologically advanced and is likely to be deployed to multiple military bases of the US military in the Asia-Pacific region after service, this does not mean that it is invulnerable. At present, some major military powers have established a complete set of anti-access systems including advanced radars, various missiles, etc. to deal with weapons such as stealth aircraft and stealth cruise missiles, creating an "iron wall" to keep enemies out of the country.
From an offensive perspective, the best way to truly prevent weapons developed by the United States from continuing to lead the world and disrupting the balance of the strategic landscape is for the corresponding military powers to increase investment in manpower, material and financial resources to develop weapons of the same level, so as to achieve mutual checks and balances.
Senior editor of this issue Xingtan
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