Northrop Grumman B-21 Raider (LRS-B)

It looks from what I have seen in the photos that there are two smaller bays to either side of the main bay, so I think that could be what they are going to be doing with them TomS.
 

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Sundog said:
Don't forget NG was also working on much smaller air defense missiles, I think for the original NGB program. The smaller bays may also house banks of those launched just like flares and chaff are launched, with the doors just acting as stealth covers for the missile bank.
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Peregrines?

Those are pretty impressive, half the size of an AMRAAM and allegedly the same range and performance. IIRC there's no warhead, so all that space isn't needed, and they're using a slightly more energetic fuel.


raptor82 said:
Wow！

View: https://www.instagram.com/p/Czeb77RPPHT/?igshid=Y2NkYjk0MDhjYg==
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The shadows on the underside of the wing are very interesting indeed. Looks like the sharp edge curls over like a cornice and the bottom of the wing bellies out.
 
MSDM wouldn't need to be that long (think maybe 3 feet). And I'd expect those launchers to be on the upper surface, because the last thing you want to do with an inbound SAM is compromise the lower surface RCS by opening a bay door. (Though I guess if you're in the endgame, when MSDM is coming into play, stealth may not be a factor any more.)
 
So the 21 does split the far outboard and inboard elevons for yaw control, single weapons bay and seems to be twin engine.
 
I would love to hear the logic behind sacrificing fuel and perhaps even weapon bay volume to allegedly fit air to air missiles in - a bomber... Not to mention the extra panel gaps which affects your signature. I am yet to see advantages?
 
flateric said:
View: https://www.instagram.com/p/Czeb77RPPHT/?igshid=dWdvMmVrdGhkajJ2
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In these close up pictures you can make out what appear to be screws along the edge of the supposed smaller weapons bays. The screws along the edge are similar to what is featured on the possible engine access panel, while the weapons bay does not have them at all. It seems likely to me that the panels are not smaller weapons bays but are rather just more panels for maintenance access.
 
NCQ said:
In these close up pictures you can make out what appear to be screws along the edge of the supposed smaller weapons bays. The screws along the edge are similar to what is featured on the possible engine access panel, while the weapons bay does not have them at all. It seems likely to me that the panels are not smaller weapons bays but are rather just more panels for maintenance access.
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they ARE weapons bays
 
BLACK_MAMBA said:
I would love to hear the logic behind sacrificing fuel and perhaps even weapon bay volume to allegedly fit air to air missiles in - a bomber... Not to mention the extra panel gaps which affects your signature. I am yet to see advantages?
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AAMs unlikely but not impossible if they envisage having to penetrate defended airspace. Defense suppression missiles much more likely, though. Dual-role weapons would be interesting if available (Triple-Target Terminator :( )
 
flateric said:
they ARE weapons bays
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I'm not talking about the large weapons bay in the center, I'm talking about what many people were saying were two smaller weapons bays on either side of the large weapons bay. Take a look at the attached photo of the weapons bay and the two panels to the side, you can see both the panels next to the weapons bay are lined with screws along the edge. If the side panels were weapons bays they would be like the main weapons bay which does not have screws along the edge. I don't think either panels to the side are weapons bays, it appears to me that the B-21 just has the one large weapons bay.

weapons_bay_crop.jpg
 
Now I’m anxiously awaiting the Sentinel test before the end of 2023 we were promised?
 
BLACK_MAMBA said:
I would love to hear the logic behind sacrificing fuel and perhaps even weapon bay volume to allegedly fit air to air missiles in - a bomber... Not to mention the extra panel gaps which affects your signature. I am yet to see advantages?
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Next-gen A2A missiles are expected to have significant anti-missile capability, especially against the kind of heavy long-range SAMs that China and Russia like to use.

It's not intended for shooting down fighters, but if someone manages to take a S-400 shot at you, it would be nice to be able to shoot it down before it shoots you down.
 
Now that I see that enhanced image of the belly that Paul posted, specifically, the third one, I think those small doors next to the bomb bay may just be access doors for the engine accessories, or possibly doors covering a special hinge for the bomb bay doors. Maybe they bi-fold like on F-22 belly or allow the bay doors to open similar to the nose gear doors on a C-5?

Also, the white lights out near the wing tips, are those lights attached to retractable Luneburg lenses?
 
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BLACK_MAMBA said:
I would love to hear the logic behind sacrificing fuel and perhaps even weapon bay volume to allegedly fit air to air missiles in - a bomber... Not to mention the extra panel gaps which affects your signature. I am yet to see advantages?
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I was thinking bays sized roughly for AARGM or -ER, but the really old school idea for bomber defensive missiles was to also be able to intercept big SAMs.

A few "half-RAAMs" would be nice, if the defensive sites get a missile off before the SiAW hits.
 
Is the B-21 anticipated to air-launch any specialized, expendable drones?
Have decoys?
Compartments for DEWs?
Which door is the crew-hatch?
 
raptor82 said:
IMG_1002.jpeg
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What's funny is how much that shape, if you squint just right, brings to mind heel plates for shoes, which were mentioned so famously, in certain flying circles, around a half century back - those heels being shaped such as,
Heel Plates 28 Pairs Rubber Shoes Heel Taps Tips Repair Pad Replacement with Nails Small, Medium,Large Size (3 Size,Black)
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Forgot about the crew hatch Scott Kenny, NG would be very careful about putting in another hole into the skin of the B-21. We will no doubt get more photos about the access hatch later as the test flights get under way. I wonder who the test pilots were for this first flight?
 
The B-21 having air-to-air capabilities (not limited to self-defense) has been discussed for years, and several hints have been made...

“If we were to characterize it [NGAD] as a fighter, we would be… thinking too narrowly about what kind of airplane we need in a highly contested environment,” U.S. Air Force Major General Scott Pleus, who is currently Director of Air and Cyber Operations for Pacific Air Forces, recently told Air Force Magazine. “A B-21 [Raider stealth bomber] that also has air-to-air capabilities” and can “work with the family of systems to defend itself, utilizing stealth – maybe that’s where the sixth-generation airplane comes from.”

www.thedrive.com

"B-21s With Air-To-Air Capabilities," Drones, Not 6th Gen Fighters To Dominate Future Air Combat

The Air Force's vision of the future of aerial combat has evolved greatly as of late and has moved away from plans for new, costly manned fighters.
www.thedrive.com www.thedrive.com
 
That is the first time that I have ever heard of such a use for the B-21 Manuducati, it will be interesting to see if such a system works in reality.
 

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