(Luft) Northrop-Grumman B-21 Raider (Long Range Strike Bomber)

[revan]

Hier soll es in Zukunft um ein sehr neues Projekt gehen und zwar um den Zukünftigen Bomber der USAF der momentan noch gar kein richtigen Namen hat daher der umständliche Themen Name. Ich nenne ihn biss ein anderer Name bzw. der Offizielle Name dafür bekannt ist einfach B3. Das USAF Magazin hat schon einige Details über den Bomber bzw. über das was er können soll wie über seine Größe und einige Design Details.

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The Bomber: The centerpiece of future long-range strike, the Air Force intends to procure between 80 and 100 of these aircraft at a projected unit flyaway cost of about $500 million, said one senior service official. By the mid-2020s, a flying prototype—if not the first handful of aircraft—should be in flight test.

Pentagon officials have not set specific requirements for the aircraft yet, but there is "consensus" among top Pentagon leaders that the aircraft is required. Cost will be an independent variable; officials may trade off some capabilities to achieve an affordable price. The Air Force may make an "early downselect" to a single contractor or team to reduce cost and development time. The service will make heavy use of technologies and concepts developed for the terminated next generation bomber initiative.

Development funding for the bomber from Fiscal 2012 through Fiscal 2016 will total $3.7 billion. The aircraft will have "global" range, but will be smaller than the B-2—probably of a size similar to the F-111. It will carry munitions weighing no more than about 5,000 pounds each, with a gross payload of less than 28,000 pounds. A principal weapon will be a bomb or missile capable of penetrating hardened, deeply buried targets.

Engines will be a product of Air Force Materiel Command's Adaptive Versatile Engine Technology (ADVENT) demonstrator program, which seeks more powerful and more fuel-efficient powerplants than even those on the F-22 and F-35. Two engines will power each bomber, which will not be hypersonic, but may achieve speeds just slightly above Mach 1, the supersonic threshold. However, the bomber likely will make use of a hypersonic standoff weapon in later iterations.

The aircraft will be highly stealthy, "orders of magnitude" less detectable than the F-35. It will not have defensive missiles, but will use laser and directed-energy defenses. It will have a sophisticated radar able to map the ground in fine detail. The radar will also have simultaneous function in electronic attack/electronic warfare.

The bomber will be an "adaptable" design that is able to incorporate new technologies as they emerge. In addition to an open electronics architecture, it should feature an open hardware architecture, accommodating modular, changeable capabilities depending on the mission.

The aircraft may have a variable geometry of an advanced nature; unlike the "swing wing" of the B-1 and F-111, its shape may seamlessly "morph" in flight to switch from dash speeds to loitering speeds.

Optionally manned, the aircraft in later versions will use offensive directed energy weapons and carry nuclear weapons.

The bomber will be capable of solo attacks against targets that are moderately defended; against more sophisticated air defenses, it will rely on offboard systems to help it penetrate, loiter, if necessary, and exit the battle area. These offboard capabilities will include other aircraft, systems mounted on other aircraft, satellites, and cyber weapons. The use of offboard systems is meant to avoid excessive unit cost and to distribute capabilities such that they can also serve other purposes.