the future bomber of the U.S. air force B-21 Raider, apparently, will not perform combat operations at low altitude. Previously, experts expressed this assumption, based on the construction of the aircraft, represented in the sketches. Now the hypothesis has received confirmation from the leadership of the U.S. air force.
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As the site says Aviation Week, now the air forces of the United States entering into a binding legal process to assess the impact of a new bomber on the environment in the places of permanent deployment. In this regard, the military had to provide the public with a little more information. “It is not expected that B-21 will use training routes at low altitude,” – said in particular on one of the information posters of the U.S. air force.
By the way, now standing on the arms the B-2 bomber originally also conceived as high-rise, but the requirements change at the last moment forced the manufacturer to redesign the bomber, so he could perform the mission and at low altitude. As a result, back portion acquired is not a simple W-shaped, and became more like a saw. B-2, like its predecessors, the B-52 and B-1B – needs training routes at low altitude. The tail B-21 in the current design resembles the original option B-2.
Also “it is expected that the engine noise B-21 will be less than the B-1B, and about the same or less than the B-2,” from new data provided by the U.S. air force. According to the author of Aviation Week, this suggests that the B-21 will use a jet engine without afterburner, as dosesvukova B-2. Supersonic B-1B are the power plant with the possibility of afterburner.
As already reported, “RG”, according to the current schedule for first flight of a new U.S. air force is scheduled for 2021, and the adoption in mid-2020s. However, many experts, including former American military, I doubt the reality of the time.