Speaking of the most advanced and frightening bomber in the world today, the B-2 stealth strategic bomber is definitely well deserved. The B-2 stealth strategic bomber has a unique flying wing design and stealth function, so it has become a veritable air ghost. In addition, the B-2 stealth strategic bomber does not need fighter escort when performing missions, because its excellent stealth function makes it difficult to detect. At the same time, the B-2 bomber has a combat range of 12,000 kilometers without refueling, and the mission time will not be less than 10 hours. It is precisely because of the excellent performance of this bomber that the U.S. Air Force has the capabilities of "global reach" and "global destruction". The fatal shortcomings of the
B-2 bomber: The expensive
B-2 bomber can be said to be good for the whole body, but there is a shortcoming, that is, the cost is too expensive. When the development of the B-2 bomber began, the U.S. military stated that it would purchase 134 equipment, but as the development progressed, its cost soared from the initial budget of US$550 million to US$2.4 billion, which is the most expensive in the world today. aircraft. In terms of weight, the price of the B-2 bomber was two or three times more expensive than the same weight of gold at the time. It can be said that it was a fighter plane piled up with three times the gold. Therefore, the US finally purchased only 21 equipment.
is expensive, but the maintenance of the B-2 bomber is very expensive and troublesome. It costs $100,000 to clean it once, and it also requires a constant temperature and humidity hangar. Although the United States has strong financial resources, it is really painful for such a "bottomless pit". In this case, the United States has begun to develop a more cost-effective B-2 upgraded version. According to media reports, the U.S. military’s new-generation stealth strategic bomber B-21 "Raider" has begun to assemble in the mountains. Experts say it has been ahead of the B-2 for at least 20 years and has few rivals in the world. Moreover, according to the requirements of the US Department of Defense, the price of the "Raiders" will be controlled within US$550 million. Therefore, the Pentagon said that in the future, 180 aircraft will be equipped to replace the B-52 and B-1 bombers currently in service in the US military. The superior performance of
B-21
According to the news released by the United States, the "Raider" bomber also uses a flying wing stealth design, which has further stealth performance and also uses a more advanced avionics design. However, because of its smaller size, the payload will be reduced, and it also has nuclear strike capabilities. In addition, on the basis of the application of B-2 technology, some modern technologies are added, which are more suitable for future local operations
According to the US military, the first flight time of the B-21 "Raider" strategic stealth bomber has been determined. The first test flight will be completed at the end of 2021, and it will be delivered to the US military around 2025.
Old rival Russia's progress
As America's most powerful competitor, Russia is also stepping up time to study strategic bombers. However, almost thirty years have passed, but Russia still has not been able to develop a new type of hidden bomb surpassing the B-2, or even a "cottage version" that is comparable to the B-2.
But just as the United States announced the B-21 bomber, the Russian military also reported a good news, that is, the service time of the new generation of Russian stealth bomber PAK-DA has been determined. It is expected to fly in 2025 for the first time and join the Russian Aerospace in 2027. Military service.
According to Lieutenant General Sergey Kirbylash, head of Russian long-range aviation, the PAK-DA strategic bomber system has been identified as Russia’s fifth-generation strategic bomber. This bomber will adopt a subsonic design and adopt advanced Stealth design, with many unachievable functions of the three strategic bombers currently in service in Russia.
According to reports, the PAK-DA bomber adopts a flying-wing design and is Russia's first strategic bomber with a stealth design. The overall performance is said to be a B2 strategic bomber that is fully ahead of the US military. It has a basic range of 125,000 kilometers, the maximum load capacity of the internal magazine is up to 30 tons, and it will have the ability to carry hypersonic missiles.
It is reported that the research and development of Russia's sixth-generation unmanned strategic bomber has been put on the agenda. It is expected to come out in 2040, and its performance will be more advanced than that of manned strategic bombers.
