“RQ-180” already exists, though I suspect there are/will be other platforms.
Assuming that the B-21 can receive data from it and possibly control it, then yes that'd work. Back in the B-2 days, there was a lot of discussion around also needing a supersonic penetrating ISR bird to catch the ICBM TELs before they got back under cover, before the subsonic ISR birds arrived.

So there will likely be both an RQ-180(equivalent) and a Blackbird(equivalent) as CCAs for the B-21s.
 
Assuming that the B-21 can receive data from it and possibly control it, then yes that'd work. Back in the B-2 days, there was a lot of discussion around also needing a supersonic penetrating ISR bird to catch the ICBM TELs before they got back under cover, before the subsonic ISR birds arrived.

So there will likely be both an RQ-180(equivalent) and a Blackbird(equivalent) as CCAs for the B-21s.

RQ-180 when he's just QUARTZ for the B-21.

After 50 years the capacity to hunt and kill TELs in a steppe wasteland is in the USAF's hands.
 
I would certainly expect there to be other unanounced platforms that exist either in the design stage or operating in total secrecy in the Black World just as TACIT BLUE once did all those years ago Josh_TN.
I think an evolved Tacit Blue (AP-1) would be relevant now plus again, Tacit Blue for it's time was pretty advanced, even for a demonstrator. Is JSTARS even flying missions still, I have not kept track of JSTARS? One flight controls engineer I worked with at Pico who had been on TB said there was a production configuration from which I understand was a pretty sleek looking bird with increased VLO capability.
 
I think an evolved Tacit Blue (AP-1) would be relevant now plus again, Tacit Blue for it's time was pretty advanced, even for a demonstrator. Is JSTARS even flying missions still, I have not kept track of JSTARS? One flight controls engineer I worked with at Pico who had been on TB said there was a production configuration from which I understand was a pretty sleek looking bird with increased VLO capability.

JSTARS is being replaced by a space based system
 
I think an evolved Tacit Blue (AP-1) would be relevant now plus again, Tacit Blue for it's time was pretty advanced, even for a demonstrator. Is JSTARS even flying missions still, I have not kept track of JSTARS? One flight controls engineer I worked with at Pico who had been on TB said there was a production configuration from which I understand was a pretty sleek looking bird with increased VLO capability.
I expect an equivalent/successor as part of the Army's rotorcraft program (not FLRAA, the Apache replacement) and maybe for the USAF at a tactical level.

I mean, the original plan for TACIT BLUE was some 600 birds, right? And all that was for battlefield surveillance.

It'd be foolish to lock into the space based system without an alternate.
 
Assuming that the B-21 can receive data from it and possibly control it, then yes that'd work. Back in the B-2 days, there was a lot of discussion around also needing a supersonic penetrating ISR bird to catch the ICBM TELs before they got back under cover, before the subsonic ISR birds arrived.

So there will likely be both an RQ-180(equivalent) and a Blackbird(equivalent) as CCAs for the B-21s.

It’s worth pointing out NROL orbited a hundred satellites last year alone and likely keeps that pace up for the foreseeable future. USAF/Spaceforce and NROL are already stepping on eat others toe a bit because the NROL constellations are moving towards near realtime target generation. The U.S. Army has produced target lists in minutes using AI and commercial satellites; I cannot imagine why the USAF would not do the same. By the end of the decade I think we will see on orbit AI assets with their own target identification software that just spit out tagged target information for a given area upon request by any terrestrial terminal. Orbital MTI is probably only a decade away.
 
It’s worth pointing out NROL orbited a hundred satellites last year alone and likely keeps that pace up for the foreseeable future. USAF/Spaceforce and NROL are already stepping on eat others toe a bit because the NROL constellations are moving towards near realtime target generation. The U.S. Army has produced target lists in minutes using AI and commercial satellites; I cannot imagine why the USAF would not do the same. By the end of the decade I think we will see on orbit AI assets with their own target identification software that just spit out tagged target information for a given area upon request by any terrestrial terminal.
That may preclude the Blackbird-equivalent, I still think there will be a QUARTZ/AARS subsonic bird in existence.


Orbital MTI is probably only a decade away.
They were talking about it being a decade away in the 1990s.
 
They were talking about it being a decade away in the 1990s.

Perhaps, but constellations with hundreds of satellites are a reality now. NROL is almost there and SDA will put up theirs this year, likely, with both building out the infrastructure every couple years. I think MTI is coming sooner rather than later now.

In any case, we certainly know of air and space borne recon platforms than can support the strike mission, and that is just the stuff we know of in open source operating right now. I suspect by the end of decade there will be high supersonic/hypersonic UAVs as well, assuming there are not already.
 
Perhaps, but constellations with hundreds of satellites are a reality now. NROL is almost there and SDA will put up theirs this year, likely, with both building out the infrastructure every couple years. I think MTI is coming sooner rather than later now.
Hopefully.

Serious Space-Based Radars would be a godsend for the US military.


In any case, we certainly know of air and space borne recon platforms than can support the strike mission, and that is just the stuff we know of in open source operating right now. I suspect by the end of decade there will be high supersonic/hypersonic UAVs as well, assuming there are not already.
I'm not quite sure how likely hypersonics are, there's issues with sensors seeing out and their utter lack of stealth in IR.

But something cruising M2.2-3.2 and stealthy? Oh, yeah. The low end is to keep the thermal signature as low as achievable while still being usefully supersonic for the missions.
 
One flight controls engineer I worked with at Pico who had been on TB said there was a production configuration from which I understand was a pretty sleek looking bird with increased VLO capability.
Oooooh, that would be so cool!

Do we know anything more about this?
 
Perhaps, but constellations with hundreds of satellites are a reality now. NROL is almost there and SDA will put up theirs this year, likely, with both building out the infrastructure every couple years. I think MTI is coming sooner rather than later now.

In any case, we certainly know of air and space borne recon platforms than can support the strike mission, and that is just the stuff we know of in open source operating right now. I suspect by the end of decade there will be high supersonic/hypersonic UAVs as well, assuming there are not already.
 

Company president and chief executive officer Kathy Warden, speaking on a Jan. 30 earnings call, noted “an award for the second LRIP lot on B-21 in the fourth quarter.” She had telegraphed the award in an October 2024 earnings callbut gave no details in either call about the number of aircraft the contract covers or its value. The Air Force has kept many details about the B-21 secret, to include financial details of its acquisition.
 
I just listened to Northrop's Q4 earnings call. They mentioned that the second LRIP option had been exercised in Q4, but provided no other news on the program.
Actually… How long was the time between the first flight of the first and the second B-2 flying prototype…?
 
Actually… How long was the time between the first flight of the first and the second B-2 flying prototype…?

The B-2 was first revealed to the public on November 22, 1988, when AV-1 (82-1066) was unveiled at Palmdale. At this time, the aircraft was still not ready for its first flight. The fact that the production and service-introduction schedules were not revealed led the media to suspect that the program was well behind schedule, which was indeed the case. The media speculation got even worse when the first flight of the AV-1 was delayed. At this time, Congress was reluctant to commit to any production until flight testing was well under way.

Taxi tests began on July 10, 1989. The B-2 finally made its first flight on July 17, 1989 from Palmdale, crewed by chief test pilot Bruce J. Hinds and Col. Richard Couch. It lasted 112 minutes and ended with a landing at Edwards AFB. After carrying out initial tests, AV-1 was used for radar cross section tests. In early 1993, AV-1 was placed in long term storage to await upgrading to full service configuration prior to joining the operational fleet.

The second test aircraft (AV-2, 82-1067) flew for the first time on October 19, 1990 from Palmdale, landing at Edwards AFB. It was heavily instrumented and served as the loads test aircraft.

AV-3 (82-1068) took to the air for the first time on June 18, 1991. It was the first radar and navigation test aircraft.

AV-4 (82-1069) followed on April 17, 1992, and AV-5 (82-1070) on October 5, 1992. These two planes were used for avionics and weapons testing. The first bomb to be tested with the B-2 was a 2000-lb Mk 84, which was dropped from AV-4 on September 12, 1992. AV-5 was the intended for armament, climactic, and low-observability testing.

The last development aircraft, AV-6 (82-1071) flew on February 2, 1993. It was used for Tech order validation and fur further weapons and avionics testing. By January 1995, the six FSD B-2s had logged more than 2300 hours in the air in more than 490 flights. Most of the work was done by the 420th Flight Test Squadron at Edwards AFB.
 
The B-21 being built on schedule ans on budget is really good news Forest Green, I would think that it would help the program along.
All I can say that letting contractor cook is better than Pentagon or Congress add requirements or design changes. V-28 and B-21 are proving to be great programs when the procurement office is in dire need of a successful program. This is very good news.
 
All I can say that letting contractor cook is better than Pentagon or Congress add requirements or design changes. V-28 and B-21 are proving to be great programs when the procurement office is in dire need of a successful program. This is very good news.
all it takes is two prior cancelled attempts to write functional requirements and contracts
 

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