Two years ago, the American aviation industry began to create the promising strategic bomber Northrop Grumman B-21 Raider. The first machine of this type will have to go out for testing only in a few years, however, certain assessments of a promising project are already being expressed, and attempts are being made to predict further events.
On October 27, the American edition of The National Interest published an article by Kyle Mizokami entitled “Why Russia, China and North Korea Should Fear America's B-21 Bomber”. As the title shows, the publication is devoted to the latest B-21 project and the consequences of the appearance of such technology in the context of the international military-political situation.
At the beginning of his article, K. Mizokami recalls the events of the recent and distant past. On October 27, 2015, Northrop Grumman received a contract to develop the promising stealth bomber B-21 Raider. At the same time, he notes that about 35 years before the signing of the contract for the B-21, a previous agreement of this kind was concluded, the result of which was the B-2 Spirit aircraft.
The author is forced to note that at the moment, many of the details of the new project are shrouded in mystery. At the same time, some of the information has already been published. Having some data about the future of the B-21, it is possible to draw certain conclusions, which is what the American journalist suggests to do.
The official designation of the bomber - B-21 Raider - has a curious origin. The numbers point to the 21st century, and the additional name recalls the legendary 1942 operation. During World War II, a squadron of B-25 Mitchell bombers under the command of General James "Jimmy" Doolittle attacked a number of targets in the Japanese Isles. Among other things, bombs were dropped on Tokyo. Remembering the Doolittle Raid, the US Air Force points to the audacity of the attack, the strategic and tactical surprise, and the unique length of the raiders' route.
As shown in an image of a B-21 aircraft, officially released by the US Air Force, the new project involves the construction of a tailless aircraft, similar to a bat. At the same time, the new B-21 should have some similarities with the existing B-2. However, the two aircraft are markedly different from each other.
K. Mizokami draws attention to the layout of the power plant. On the new bomber, the engines will be located closer to the rudimentary fuselage, while the General Electric F118-GE-100 engines of the B-2 aircraft are located at a certain distance from the central section of the airframe. The new project provides for the use of beveled air intakes instead of the "jagged" ones used on serial equipment. In addition, the promising B-21 will receive a means of cooling jet engine gases, designed to reduce visibility in the infrared range. It is curious that such devices were present in early images of the future B-2, but were never included in the final version of the project.
The promising bomber looks similar to the existing B-2, and is likely to be four-engined too. In 2016, Pratt & Whitney was selected as a subcontractor to make the engines for the new B-21. Modified versions of the F-100 and F-135 turbojet engines are being considered as the power plant for this aircraft. The relatively old F-100 used on the F-15 Eagle fighters looks like the right choice. However, instead of it, the customer can choose a modification of the F-135, installed on the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. This will allow both to obtain the required characteristics and to reduce the cost of production of engines for two aircraft.
Like its predecessor, the new Northrop Grumman B-21 Raider will become a heavy strategic bomber capable of carrying nuclear and conventional weapons. If it does not differ from the B-2 in size, then there is reason to believe that the payload will remain the same. In addition, the B-21 can store two cargo compartments. K. Mizokami believes that the aircraft can be equipped with Advanced Applications Rotary Launcher, already used on the B-2 machines. Each such product carries eight missiles of one type or another.
For special missions, the B-21 will be able to carry nuclear weapons. In this case, its ammunition will include Long-Range Stand-Off (LRSO) cruise missiles, which are not easily visible to enemy detection equipment. In addition, compatibility with B61 tactical bombs will be ensured, including their newest version, the B61-12. Combination of weapons of different types is possible. In this case, LRSO missiles will be used to destroy air defense facilities and break through to the main targets. The latter, accordingly, will be destroyed by guided bombs.
In "normal" combat missions, the B-21 will be able to use a wide range of conventional ammunition. It will be able to carry the JASSM-ER cruise missile, as well as the GBU-31 Joint Directed Attack Munition guided bombs with a caliber of 2 thousand pounds. The author believes that in the case of non-nuclear weapons, a strategy of sequential use of missiles and bombs can be used: the former will help to make a "passage" in the enemy's air defense system, and the latter will fly directly to the indicated targets. Alternatively, the possibility of using only bombs or only missiles in one flight can be considered.
Also, the raider's weapons range should include the GBU-57A / B Massive Ordnance Penetrator bomb. This item weighs 30,000 pounds (14 tonnes) and is currently only capable of being carried by a B-2 bomber. Thus, the prospective project should envisage the possibility of using the most heavy American aviation weapons, which do not have a large number of carriers.
K. Mizokami points out that the Air Force commissioned Northrop Grumman to design and build a bomber using the principles of open architecture in firmware. Thus, unlike previous aircraft in its class, the new B-21 can become more than just a bomber. The specifics and features of the required architecture should ensure that the hardware can be upgraded easily and quickly, as well as facilitate the integration of new tools. Thanks to this, the aircraft can be quickly and easily adapted to new missions of one kind or another.
For example, in addition to weapons, observation devices, target designation, etc. can be placed in the cargo compartment. In addition, the B-21 will be able to carry special communications equipment, an unmanned aircraft complex, electronic intelligence systems or electronic warfare. All this will make it possible to solve a variety of combat missions in a variety of conditions, including with active opposition from the enemy. In general, according to the author, the current implementation of plans in the context of an open architecture of onboard equipment in the future may make the B-21 the world's first multipurpose bomber.
According to open data, the first flight of the promising strategic bomber-bomber Northrop Grumman B-21 Raider will take place in the middle of the next decade. In the future, the United States Air Force intends to buy at least a hundred of these aircraft. This technique will replace the existing B-52H Stratofortress and B-1B Lancer vehicles. The possibility of building and purchasing two hundred new bombers is not excluded. However, the fate of the second hundred aircraft is directly related to the size of the military budget and the financial capabilities of the customer.
The author of The National Interest, having made a number of assumptions about the appearance of the future B-21, recalls that at the moment there is no detailed information on this matter. How exactly this car will look like - experts and the public do not yet know. Now the Air Force and the developer strive to maintain secrecy and carefully guard information about him. This situation may persist for the next several years, until the publication of official data or the first show of the finished car.
Thus - sums up Kyle Mizokami - the new B-21 Raider has temporarily disappeared into the darkness of secret military technologies, and will be released again only when it is ready.
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It should be noted that the Northrop Grumman B-21 Raider strategic bomber project is indeed one of the most interesting American programs of the present time. The US Air Force is planning a radical update of its strategic aviation, which is supposed to be carried out using technology of the most original appearance with special capabilities. For this reason, it should be expected that the B-21 project will implement interesting ideas of one kind or another.
For obvious reasons, the customer and the contractor are in no hurry to disclose all their plans and publish the technical details of the new project. Nevertheless, some fragmentary information has already become known from official and unofficial sources. In addition, an official image of the future aircraft was published, reflecting the current state of the project at that time. However, the actual results of the project may differ markedly from those previously planned.
The lack of detailed technical and tactical information turns out to be a good breeding ground for the emergence of various assessments. So, in his article "Why Russia, China and North Korea Should Fear America's B-21 Bomber", the author of The National Interest tries to predict what kind of power plant a promising car will receive. In addition, he presented an approximate range of weapons suitable for use by Raider aircraft. Whether K. Mizokami succeeded in making correct predictions will become known later, after the appearance of official information.
A curious feature of the article in The National Interest appears when comparing the title with the material itself. The title of the publication claims that Russia, China and the DPRK should be afraid of the new aircraft, and also promises to explain why. At the same time, in the article itself, third countries are simply not mentioned, and it considers exclusively the tactical and technical features of a promising project. Apparently, the reader is invited to consider the possible appearance and alleged capabilities of the B-21 bomber, and then independently draw conclusions in the context of its role in the context of containing Russia, China or North Korea. The author, however, does not express his opinion on this matter.
It is obvious that the promising B-21 bomber, having entered serial production and starting service in combat units, will in a certain way affect the balance of power in the world - as always happens with the appearance of new types of weapons and equipment for strategic nuclear forces. However, these events still relate to a rather distant future, and the available amount of information does not allow making accurate predictions. Perhaps the future B-21 Raider will really be able to disturb Moscow, Beijing and Pyongyang. But the reasons for such a fear at the moment are not completely clear, and full conclusions on this issue can only be drawn in the future.
