I wonder how much of it we will actually be able to see. From what I understand, there is one filming platform from which the media can take pictures (maybe video?) and they can only use approved lenses. I have doubts that the plane will be fully removed from its hanger.
US Military News, Reports, Data, etc.
- Thread starter tphuang
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supposely just hangar door open and shut... no roll out
That makes sense! I just listened to a PodCast on Aviation Week about the roll-out and they said the plane will only be shown after sunset (4:42 pm PST for Palmdale in California) which will make distinguishing features more difficult depending on artificial lighting present.
The Aviation Week staff hope they can guess the number engines depending on how good of a look we get at the inlets / shaping. The reporter present (Steve Trimble) speculates it is a 4x Pratt and Whitney PW9000 and that the aircraft potentially will be 2/3 the size of the B-2. He speculates it will have a Northrop Grumman AESA and BAE electronic warfare system based on Tier 1 suppliers already acknowledge. He also mentions the potential for conformal load bearing antenna, but isn't sure if the technology was mature enough at the time to integrate in the B-21s development.
He goes on to speculate that we could see public backlash from over-hyping due to the fact that it will be perceived as basically a smaller B-2, and most of the advances won't be noticed by the public.
That does not jive with what I heard. I heard it has two F-35 derived engines. The Pratt & Whitney F135 has 125 kN dry thrust so it would have 250 kN thrust. Compare that with B-2 with four F-16 derived engines with 77 kN thrust each having 308 kN thrust total. There is your 2/3.
With that, I'm curious about the payload and range as well. Would it be similar to B-2, or also 2/3rd of B-2...
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It depends on the airframe design they pick and the specific fuel consumption of the engine. The B-21 should in theory have longer range assuming a similar fuel mass fraction is used. F135-PW-100 engine has a turbine inlet temperature of 2,260 K vs 1,783 K for the F110-GE-129 so it should in principle be more efficient and use less fuel.
I think I should clarify that the reporter for Aviation Week mentioned that the 4x Pratt engine was fitting for what he believed the size of the B-21 is. He also mentioned that most people expect it to be 2/3rd the size of the B-2.
In terms of the PW9000, it is derived from the core of the commercial Geared Turbofan engine with the low-pressure section of the F-135. So I guess it does have some F-135 legacy, but I am just regurgitating what I heard in the podcast.
4 engines would negate one of the main advantages of B-21 vs B-2 in terms of affordability. From every source I've read, it's F135 w/o an afterburner. I personally suspect the addition of an electro-optical targeting system a la F-35.
