Northrop Grumman B-21

Wehrtechnik & Rüstung, Sicherheit und Verteidigung außerhalb Europas
theoderich
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Re: Northrop Grumman B-21

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US Air Force delays first B-21 flight
The US Air Force (USAF) is now expecting the first flight of its Northrop Grumman B-21 Raider long range strike bomber (LRSB) to take place no earlier than 2022, slightly later than the late 2021 timeframe the service previously expected.

Major General Mark Weatherington, Eighth Air Force commander, said on 31 August that the USAF could also make the aircraft’s initial operational capability (IOC) date earlier, depending if it accelerates deliveries. This does not mean the aircraft would be delivered earlier, he said, but instead would represent a steeper ramp-up. Matthew Donovan, former USAF undersecretary, said in January 2018 that the B-21’s IOC was scheduled for the mid-2020s.
https://www.janes.com/defence-news/news ... -21-flight
theoderich
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Re: Northrop Grumman B-21

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Secret Bomber Programs Set For Possible Rollouts In 2021
For more than a decade, all three countries have labored to push a new generation of stealth bombers into service under programs cloaked in secrecy, while at the same time expanding the capacity and quality of an aging bomber fleet. The first fruits of the new stealth-bomber generation may become visibly tangible to the public in 2021.

Although the U.S. Air Force has backed off from a schedule revealed in July 2018 to fly the Northrop Grumman B-21 Raider for the first time on Dec. 4, 2021, the first aircraft still may emerge from Building 401 on Site 4 at Plant 42 in Palmdale, California, during the next 12 months.

The Air Force’s new schedule calls for first flight of the B-21 in 2022. Given the traditional 6-9-month period of outdoor ground testing in advance of any first flight by a new aircraft, the updated schedule still implies a strong chance of a factory rollout during the second half of 2021.
Leveraging heavy investments in new propulsion, sensors and weapons, the U.S., China and Russia will breathe new life into their aging Cold War-era platforms.

By June 2021, the U.S. Air Force expects to award a contract for delivery of 608 new jet engines for 76 Boeing B-52s, replacing a fleet of 60-year-old, 17,000-lb.-thrust Pratt & Whitney TF-33-P-3 turbofans. GE Aviation’s Passport and CF34, Pratt’s PW800 and Rolls-Royce’s BR.725-based F130 are the Air Force’s options, with each representing a multi-generational leap in fuel efficiency and reliability.

The Air Force also will demonstrate that Cold War bombers can perform a new role in the 2020s. A pylon modification will allow the B-52 to carry up to 22,000 lb. on each external hard point, enabling the aircraft to carry three Lockheed Martin AGM-183A Air-Launched Rapid Response Weapons on either wing.

Boeing upgraded both conventional rotary launchers inside the weapons bays to carry up to eight cruise missiles each. If a new generation of scramjet-powered hypersonic cruise missiles now in development matches the size and weight of the AGM-86s now carried by the rotary launchers, each B-52 would be able to carry 22 long-range hypersonic missiles.

A similar transformation will be demonstrated by the B-1B. In mid November, Air Force Global Strike Command showed a B-1B could accommodate a subsonic Lockheed AGM-158 Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile (Jassm) on an external pylon. By extension, each of the B-1B’s six external pylons could be adapted to carry hypersonic missiles such as the AGM-183s. Another eight hypersonic cruise missiles could be fired from the conventional rotary launcher inside the B-1B’s weapons bays.

Draft appropriations bills for fiscal 2021 in Congress include the Air Force’s request to retire 17 B-1s and funnel the operating-cost savings to modernize what would be the remaining 45 aircraft in the fleet.
https://aviationweek.com/aerospace-defe ... louts-2021
theoderich
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Re: Northrop Grumman B-21

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B-21 Prototype Environmental Protection Shelters construction, test underway

Bild
The B-21 Raider program continues to progress through the engineering and manufacturing development acquisition phase. One visible example of progress was the recent construction and installation of a temporary prototype Environmental Protection Shelter at Ellsworth Air Force Base.

Air Force Global Strike Command and the B-21 Program Office are testing various prototype shelters to identify the most effective and affordable designs that could be used across all three B-21 Main Operating Bases, the depot, and even at forward operating locations.
Beyond the prototype Environmental Protection Shelters activities, the Air Force also continues to prepare for the broader military construction requirements associated with B-21 beddown. New facilities to operate and sustain a low observable bomber will have to be built at the three planned B-21 MOBs as well as the depot. Planning and design is now ongoing for facilities such as a Low Observable Maintenance Hangar, General Maintenance Hangar, and other operations and maintenance structures. The Air Force recently participated in an industry day, hosted by the Rapid City Military Advisory Coalition, to raise awareness about possible construction opportunities.

Ellsworth AFB, Whiteman AFB, Missouri, and Dyess AFB, Texas, have all been named as the preferred locations for the three planned B-21 MOBs. Following the conclusion of the National Environmental Protection Act process, expected in the summer of 2021, the Air Force will announce the formal Record of Decision for the location of the first MOB; construction for permanent facilities will start after the secretary of the Air Force makes this decision. The temporary prototype Environmental Protection Shelters are a Research, Development, Test and Evaluation, activity that has commenced already.

Ellsworth AFB is the preferred location for the first B-21 MOB with Dyess AFB as a reasonable alternative. A second NEPA process, which will begin no later than 2022, will consider the location and order of the remaining MOBs.
https://www.af.mil/News/Article-Display ... -underway/

theoderich
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Re: Northrop Grumman B-21

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Acting Secretary John Roth and Vice Chief of Staff General Allvin just wrapped up a visit to Air Force Plant 42 where they met with reps from Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman Corporation

According to the Senior Leaders, a highlight of the visit was touring the only active bomber production line in the country, the B-21 Raider production line.

“Amazing to see that in just three years the B-21 went from a digital design to two test articles on the production line. The Air Force appreciates all the hard work and dedication of the joint Northrop Grumman and Air Force team making it happen.” Roth noted.
https://www.facebook.com/EdwardsAirForc ... ?__tn__=-R
theoderich
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Re: Northrop Grumman B-21

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B-21 Flight Test aircraft build progresses while B-21 Combined Test Force takes shape

https://www.edwards.af.mil/News/Article ... rce-takes/
theoderich
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Re: Northrop Grumman B-21

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theoderich
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Registriert: So 29. Apr 2018, 18:13

Re: Northrop Grumman B-21

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theoderich
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Registriert: So 29. Apr 2018, 18:13

Re: Northrop Grumman B-21

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First B-21 bomber enters ground testing, ‘on track for first flight’ (4. März 2022)
The first B-21 Raider bomber has entered the ground test phase, paving the way for its expected rollout this year and subsequent first flight.

Northrop Grumman now has six of the stealthy, next-generation aircraft in various stages of production, Darlene Costello, principal deputy assistant secretary of the Air Force for acquisition, technology and logistics, said in a Friday roundtable with reporters at the Air Force Association’s Air Warfare Symposium in Orlando, Florida.

Tom Jones, Northrop’s Aeronautics Systems president, also confirmed in a statement that the first Raider is now undergoing ground tests.

Costello said that with the start of testing on that B-21, “we are on track for first flight [and] we’re holding to our schedule.” She would not go into further detail on plans for the B-21.
During the ground test phase at Air Force Plant 42 in Palmdale, California, where Northrop is building the B-21, testers will turn the B-21′s power on, test its subsystems, test its structural integrity, and apply coatings and paint.

The next step will involve getting the B-21 ready for flight. This includes carrying out engine runs as well as low-speed and then high-speed taxiing.

After that, the actual first flight from Plant 42 to Edwards Air Force Base in California will take place. Formal flight testing will be held at Edwards.
https://www.defensenews.com/industry/te ... st-flight/
theoderich
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Re: Northrop Grumman B-21

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Northrop Grumman beats Q1 estimates, reveals B-21 details
On the 28 April earnings call, chief financial officer David Keffer reveals that the company received a $67 million incentive payment from the government tied to performance on the project.

He also notes that the fiscal year 2023 proposed defence budget from the Biden administration marks the first time funds were requested for B-21 procurement, rather than for just research and development.

CEO Warden says the first B-21 is now undergoing ground testing with the USAF, with test flights expected to follow. Five additional test aircraft are in various stages of development.

The B-21 is expected to enter limited production next year. During that period, the government will purchase individual aircraft at contractually set price. When the programme ultimately enters full production, Northrop and the Air Force will negotiate a final per-unit price for B-21s.

Warden notes this provides a hedge against inflationary pressure in the supply chain. Northrop expects full production to begin in 2026, with the B-21 fleet reaching initial operating capacity in 2029.
https://www.flightglobal.com/fixed-wing ... 52.article
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