The recent release of photos of the U.S. Air Force’s latest B-21 Raider stealth bomber by Northrop Grumman showcases this mysterious aircraft as the next-generation bomber platform. Pentagon weapon development officials reported that this aircraft incorporates disruptive technologies involving stealth, sensing, computing, and high-altitude high-risk bombing capabilities. The U.S. military stated the need for 100 B-21s to deter the Chinese Communist Party.
In a press release on June 18th, the company stated that benefiting from over thirty years of advances in attack and stealth technology, the B-21 is the new generation of the U.S. Air Force strategic bomber fleet and the world’s first sixth-generation aircraft to take to the skies.
Due to the secretive nature of the B-21 bomber project, many of the aircraft’s stealth capabilities and advanced technologies will not be openly discussed. However, recent photos indeed provide an unprecedented side view of the new aircraft. An article on “Warrior Maven” website mentioned that a quick examination of the external configuration suggests that the aircraft may have made a significant “leap” in the field of stealth technology.
This bomber has a key element where its air intake seamlessly “weaves” into the circular fuselage-wing-fuselage structure, flatter, more horizontal, less angular, and more seamless than its predecessor, the B-2. In simple terms, its integration with the fuselage is less vertical and flatter, which is crucial as any type of protrusion or vertical structure, regardless of its roundedness or “blending in” with the fuselage, could increase radar signals. From a pure aerodynamic perspective, vertical structures and sharp angles create electromagnetic radar “pulses” that can bounce back and generate echoes.
In contrast, a completely flat aircraft has almost no protruding structures or angles, making it difficult for radar pulses to bounce back at the speed of light from the aircraft surface. Radars and air defense systems can generate images or renderings of objects by analyzing reflected electromagnetic signals from the detected objects, thereby creating a profile of the attacking object’s size, shape, or speed. That is why despite the F-35 and F-22 being highly stealthy and capable of effectively countering many air defense systems, their stealth capabilities are ultimately not on par with the B-2 or B-21 and other fully blended body-wing fusion aircraft.
The design purpose of the B-21 is not for “dogfighting” or aerial navigation but to achieve “broadband” stealth, capable of “penetrating” enemy airspace defenses without the enemy knowing “it’s there.” Thus, with no detectable “shape” or “structure” on its fuselage, B-2 and B-21 bombers appear like a “bird” or a flying small animal to enemy radars.
The goal of broadband stealth is complete invisibility, meaning the aircraft can evade not only low-frequency “surveillance” radars that can detect incoming objects but also high-frequency engagement radars, tracks, locks, and launches. This radar technology can destroy incoming aircraft.
The article mentioned that the absence of exhaust pipes at the rear of the B-21 is also crucial because managing heat signatures is one of the most critical variables for stealth. The closer the airplane’s temperature is to its surrounding environment, the less heat it emits, making it harder to detect by infrared or thermal sensors. Internal buried engines and undisclosed technical systems are likely to significantly reduce or eliminate the heat emissions of the B-21 aircraft. If the B-21 can use new-generation heat management technology in some way, it could lead to a paradigm shift.
Years ago, former Air Force acquisition head (now commander of the Air Force Materiel Command) General Arnold Bunch told “Warrior Maven” that the B-21 would be able to “strike any target anywhere in the world at any time.”
In December 2022, Defense Secretary Austin unveiled the B-21, stating that “Even the most advanced air defense systems will have trouble detecting the B-21 in the air.”
Apart from any stealth technology the aircraft incorporates, reportedly, the B-21 has unprecedented advantages in weapons, sensing, and computing fields.
During the B-21’s official unveiling in December 2022, Austin explicitly stated that this latest bomber would serve as an “airborne sensor node” or command and control platform, supporting a network of multi-domain platforms, weapons, drones, and sensors.
“You know, the B-21 looks impressive. But what’s under the skin and the coatings of the space age is even more impressive,” Austin said at the time. “It can do all kinds of things, from intelligence gathering to battlespace management, and integrating with our allies and partners. It will seamlessly collaborate across domains, theaters, and joint forces,” he added.
Tyler Rogoway, editor of online military magazine “The War Zone,” published an analysis mentioning that in the newly released B-21 photos, sensors can be seen on the aircraft.
“Now we can see aerodata sensors on both the lower and upper fuselage of the B-21. These embedded devices are essential for maintaining the ‘Raider’s’ stable flight, relying entirely on fly-by-wire computers to keep it airborne and flying in the right direction,” Rogoway wrote.
Austin also clearly stated that the B-21 bomber would be “multi-mission,” meaning it will perform a wide range of tasks beyond just “striking” or dropping bombs.
The U.S. military sees the B-21 as the next-generation bomber, with its stealth design and electronic jamming capabilities as vital in breaking through enemy radars and air defense systems, enabling it to deter the Chinese authorities.
During a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing in March of this year, the U.S. Strategic Command stated that to strengthen the production progress of the B-21 bomber, the military needs over a hundred B-21 bombers within a short timeframe to possess the capability to penetrate multiple layers of Chinese defenses.
The B-21 can deliver highly destructive weapons and ammunition globally within 24 hours through the interconnection of U.S. domestic and overseas bases, carrying out decapitation missions or nuclear strikes.
Rebecca Grant, Director of the IRIS Independent Research Institution, wrote on Fox News that radar air defense systems manufactured by China and Russia need to stably and quickly track aircraft to engage and shoot them down. Stealth aircraft like the B-21 disrupt radar waves, preventing defense personnel from locking onto it. “You won’t see it [the B-21] coming. You won’t see it in action.”
U.S. Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall has repeatedly mentioned the B-21 strategic bomber as a deterrent against China, emphasizing that the advantage of the B-21 lies in being a weapon of “asymmetric warfare.” The U.S. military can use the B-21 to disrupt the delicate balance of power between the U.S. and China in the Taiwan Strait, effectively countering China’s area denial/anti-access (A2/AD) capabilities.
The U.S. military states that the B-21 has a payload of 13 tons and a maximum range of 9000 kilometers, allowing it to take off from Guam, carry out operational missions in mainland China, and return to Guam.
Deputy Secretary of Defense William LaPlante mentioned to “Breaking Defense” in January that a key focus of the B-21 program is to “design for production from the beginning, and to ramp up production massively to have a credible deterrent against adversaries. If not mass-produced and deployed to operational personnel, its capabilities are not fully demonstrated.”