Both countries already operate unique US military technology. Weirdly I think the B-21 would be more exportable in limited circumstances than the NGAD technology wise. Unlike the B-2 it’s designed to be a multipurpose lower cost high cycle platform. I could imagine the B-21 slotting into the UK, Japan & Italian multi platform sixth generation combat aircraft. By the way Japan might be worth a sale after all they are in theatre so to speak.

I could see Japan using B-21 as a defensive platform. It would be a tough sell, politically, to Korea and Raider is an unfortunate name for several obvious reasons.
 
Both countries already operate unique US military technology. Weirdly I think the B-21 would be more exportable in limited circumstances than the NGAD technology wise. Unlike the B-2 it’s designed to be a multipurpose lower cost high cycle platform. I could imagine the B-21 slotting into the UK, Japan & Italian multi platform sixth generation combat aircraft. By the way Japan might be worth a sale after all they are in theatre so to speak.

I could see Japan using B-21 as a defensive platform. It would be a tough sell, politically, to Korea and Raider is an unfortunate name for several obvious reasons.
The Department of Defense's Secretary even omitted out any mention of Japan when he summarized the history of the Doolittle Raiders, perhaps as a way to avoid any PR troubles with Japan
 
Regarding the Inlets geometry, please do remind that the USA are at the forefront of flows effectors

Capturing sufficient airflow isn't as much as having a gulping opening as it was in the 1950's.

What should be the focus on are with the nozzles. Do they have a B-2 setup (unlikely)? Did they succeed in their search for a distributed setup?
This is more an indicator of the level of breakthrough in technology they have reached.
 
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Regarding the Inlets geometry, please do remind that the USA are at the forefront of flows effectors

Capturing sufficient airflow isn't as much as having a gulping opening as it was in the 1950's.

What should be the focus on are with the nozzles. Do they have a B-2 setup (unlikely)? Did they succeed in their search for a distributed setup?
This is more an indicator of the level of breakthrough in technology they have reached.
Amen to that. And if even the air-breathing intake nozzles are specially designed so as to maintain maximum air intake rates, how much more its other advanced features that we aren't fully aware of yet.

Makes me wonder about its future successor, and what appearances and features it will have in 30 to 50 year's time.
 
We do not even know what the exhausts look like so I am taking the above pictures as more fan art and should be ignored.
 
A preliminary design of the B-2, it has a strong resemblance (allegedly) to the B-21 design.
 

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surely a misprint!
 

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Some interesting snippets:

Northrop revealed what it describes as the world’s first sixth-generation military aircraft

Northrop settled on the final B-21 design after exploring thousands of options to meet the USAF’s requirements for cost and low-observability. ... The USAF has set a price target of $500 million per airframe, valued in 2010 dollars. That works out to $631 million in 2022 values. Warden says Northrop is on track to meet that goal. General Charles Brown, USAF chief of staff, says that price ceiling is critical to ensuring his service is able to build-out a sufficiently deep B-21 fleet. ... focus on price does not come at the cost of the aircraft’s low-observability requirements, which [are] central to the design process.

Northrop aims to complete the B-21’s first flight in 2023, using what it calls a “production representative aircraft”. The company has six B-21 airframes in various stages of production and testing. Delivery of the first aircraft is projected for the mid-2020s.

the type’s advanced sensor systems will allow it to play an important role in other realms of warfare, including intelligence and battlefield management.

“Its ability to get in, stay in and kill targets – to hold targets at risk – is how we deter potential adversaries from taking the chance of war with the United States and our allies,”

Engineers designed the aircraft for ease of maintenance, making it a “daily flyer”
 
Those aren't in service and the B-1 isn't a low RCS platform.

The B-1B was designed for reduced observables. The ACM pylons were designed to minimize the impact on RCS. Today there is an effort underway to carry JASSM externally.
 
Those aren't in service and the B-1 isn't a low RCS platform.

The B-1B was designed for reduced observables. The ACM pylons were designed to minimize the impact on RCS. Today there is an effort underway to carry JASSM externally.
I read somewhere the AGM-129 was designed for supersonic external carriage. Presumably on the B-1B back in the day.
 

You say that B-21 carrying external payload is "known." Then provide a source for this knowledge.

It was probably Tirpak bits of info at AFM, not AWST or Flight Int. I thought then that idea as absurd as you do now, so I remember it very well - also because it was probably only bit of RFP that leaked.
If you think that this is just my imagination, I'm OK with that.
 
Just saying - red panel lines are seems to be opposite to the gate sides which is 58+ meters to provide minimum standart clearance for B-2 wingtips.
 

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Those aren't in service and the B-1 isn't a low RCS platform.

The B-1B was designed for reduced observables. The ACM pylons were designed to minimize the impact on RCS. Today there is an effort underway to carry JASSM externally.

"Reduced" in this case is several orders of magnitude lower reduction than a B-2. An F-18E has a reduced RCS, though not to the point that anyone cares if you hang something off it. The B-1's signature reductions were more to make its ECM and low level penetration mode more effective, not attempt to obscure it from almost all emitters at most frequencies. A rather different approach. Also per a former Bone navigator, none of the RAM surfaces are maintained as such for many years. I don't see any reason anyone would put a mark on the coating or hard spot on the structure of a B-2 or B-21.
 
Notice the blue lines on the floor are for the B-2's gear. So what vehicles are the red set and black set for? I would guess one of those sets are for the RQ-180 or whatever it's actually called.
Possibly for Model 401. The chocks used in one of the hangars with B-21 were from the Northrop Model 401 test team. The lines may have been for the 401's main gear.
 

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Notice the blue lines on the floor are for the B-2's gear. So what vehicles are the red set and black set for? I would guess one of those sets are for the RQ-180 or whatever it's actually called.
Possibly for Model 401. The chocks used in one of the hangars with B-21 were from the Northrop Model 401 test team. The lines may have been for the 401's main gear.
I doubt Model 401 wheel base is SO big.
 

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not attempt to obscure it from almost all emitters at most frequencies
I am not aware of any aircraft designed to do that, can you give an example?
 
Notice the blue lines on the floor are for the B-2's gear. So what vehicles are the red set and black set for? I would guess one of those sets are for the RQ-180 or whatever it's actually called.
Possibly for Model 401. The chocks used in one of the hangars with B-21 were from the Northrop Model 401 test team. The lines may have been for the 401's main gear.

The chocks were from Building 401.
 
I meant to add, one other feature I'm interested in seeing is the trailing edge. Does the aircraft use flight controls like the B-2 did, with gap seals or will it use a deforming conformal trailing edge, since there has been great strides made in that tech over the last fifteen to twenty years?
 
Those aren't in service and the B-1 isn't a low RCS platform.

The B-1B was designed for reduced observables. The ACM pylons were designed to minimize the impact on RCS. Today there is an effort underway to carry JASSM externally.

"Reduced" in this case is several orders of magnitude lower reduction than a B-2. An F-18E has a reduced RCS, though not to the point that anyone cares if you hang something off it. The B-1's signature reductions were more to make its ECM and low level penetration mode more effective, not attempt to obscure it from almost all emitters at most frequencies. A rather different approach. Also per a former Bone navigator, none of the RAM surfaces are maintained as such for many years. I don't see any reason anyone would put a mark on the coating or hard spot on the structure of a B-2 or B-21.
Nobody has EVER claimed the RCS reduction efforts implemented on the B-1B gave it B-2 levels of reduction. Basically it was enough that it made it more survivable than the Mach 2+ speed of the B-1A. That's about it.
 
Notice the blue lines on the floor are for the B-2's gear. So what vehicles are the red set and black set for? I would guess one of those sets are for the RQ-180 or whatever it's actually called.
Possibly for Model 401. The chocks used in one of the hangars with B-21 were from the Northrop Model 401 test team. The lines may have been for the 401's main gear.
I doubt Model 401 wheel base is SO big.
Given the Northrop Grumman/Scaled Composites Model 401 is 38 feet long with wingspan of 38 feet, its landing gear are going to be fairly close together compared to bombers, https://www.defensenews.com/air/201...s-reveals-mysterious-new-model-401-prototype/

See also: (bold in quote added by me) https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zo...mposites-mysterious-model-401-son-of-ares-jet

By around the end of the millennium, the plane was put into storage. It remained there until it was resurrected in 2008 to work as a flying testbed. Since then the pint-sized jet has been quite active and it has been spotted with extreme modifications that point to possible surrogate work for systems destined for stealthy unmanned aircraft.

ARES, now approaching 30 years old, was most recently seen at the LA County Air Show in Lancaster, California late last month.
 

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