Northrop Grumman B-21 unveiling

[shep854]

I'd also like to know about B-3 through -20...

[Stuart Galbraith]

10 minutes ago, Mike1158 said:

I believe we should have a bakers dozen, Something has to replace the Lancaster.  Beside which it would look great as a garden gnome for number ten.

 

Seriously though, WE had an input with it?  Apart from specifying how big a hanger we have left on the one large A/C base we have now I cannot see where.  Did BaE have an input?  Possibly.

RR seemingly had a hand in the development of the engine in F35, that is being utilized in this. And they seem to have vacumed up all kinds of parts, wouldnt be surprised if they had some airbus bits in it somewhere.

Hope we follow this approach with Tempest, built a new airframe and fill it full of bits off the shelf. If you give it to MOD to spec it, they will screw it up.

[17thfabn]

44 minutes ago, shep854 said:

I'd also like to know about B-3 through -20...

All were ALL built as super secret projects. We have several hundred of each of these aircraft as a black project. So secret no one even knows where they are based or their capabilities. They are so stealthy no one has ever seen one.

Scuttlebutt has it that they are carrier capable and are assigned to secret stealth air craft carriers that are also deep black projects.

Here allegedly is a picture of the B-3 through B-20 flying in formation:

  

Edited December 7, 2022 by 17thfabn

[Stuart Galbraith]

Flying Stealth Aircraft Carriers.

 

[17thfabn]

43 minutes ago, Stuart Galbraith said:

Flying Stealth Aircraft Carriers.

In the back ground if you look very very hard with magnification you may be able to see one of the stealth carriers. It was caught by chance by the photographer. 

[futon]

B-20 is actually going to emerge as H-20.

[17thfabn]

5 hours ago, Stuart Galbraith said:

RR seemingly had a hand in the development of the engine in F35, that is being utilized in this. And they seem to have vacumed up all kinds of parts, wouldnt be surprised if they had some airbus bits in it somewhere.

I thought most U.S. DOD engines were General Electric or Prat and Whitney?

[Stuart Galbraith]

They are, but RR were a partner. Mainly on the thrust vectoring variant, but there may be some crossover.

[Josh]

6 hours ago, Mike1158 said:

I believe we should have a bakers dozen, Something has to replace the Lancaster.  Beside which it would look great as a garden gnome for number ten.

 

Seriously though, WE had an input with it?  Apart from specifying how big a hanger we have left on the one large A/C base we have now I cannot see where.  Did BaE have an input?  Possibly.

BAE probably did most of the avionics, but I think it is really stretching to say either RAF or RAAF had any input. But I think both those countries will be offered it for sale were they to think the cost justified the purchase. It would definitely solve some power projection goals of the RAAF, though I'm not sure they will be willing to to buy such an expensive platform while also trying to field nuclear submarines.

ETA: although the USAF will probably account for the first 80-100 examples to retire the B-1/2s before any could be sold to anyone else.

Edited December 7, 2022 by Josh

[Mike1158]

I don't like the chances of B21 being sold outside the USA.  Who else has the money for a start?  At some stage when there was life left, they may have been interested in the B2 but frankly even that was/is stretching things so far beyond that the horse is down the road and on the way to a gentle retirement.  I mean being chopped up.

[shep854]

7 hours ago, 17thfabn said:

In the back ground if you look very very hard with magnification you may be able to see one of the stealth carriers. It was caught by chance by the photographer. 

Now THAT'S effective camo! 😁

[shep854]

8 hours ago, 17thfabn said:

All were ALL built as super secret projects. We have several hundred of each of these aircraft as a black project. So secret no one even knows where they are based or their capabilities. They are so stealthy no one has ever seen one.

Scuttlebutt has it that they are carrier capable and are assigned to secret stealth air craft carriers that are also deep black projects.

Here allegedly is a picture of the B-3 through B-20 flying in formation:

  

🤣

[Ivanhoe]

Well, hopefully the whole chip shortage debacle doesn't impact NG's and Boeing's ability to produce cloaking devices.

 

[Josh]

22 hours ago, Mike1158 said:

I don't like the chances of B21 being sold outside the USA.  Who else has the money for a start?  At some stage when there was life left, they may have been interested in the B2 but frankly even that was/is stretching things so far beyond that the horse is down the road and on the way to a gentle retirement.  I mean being chopped up.

Most likely not. Almost nobody has the need and or money for B-21, and the only countries that I think would even be trusted with it are AUKUS. RAAF could probably justify it given the distances they have to cover to be anything more then a self defense air patrol, but I can't imagine Canberra paying the ticket cost unless it drops its drive to pick up nuclear submarines.

No one would have ever accepted a B-2. It is a bespoke aircraft with a massive amount of overhead per mission. Even in US service it functions more as a special operations group than active bomber force.

Edited December 8, 2022 by Josh