Raider takes Flight

[+daddyairplanes 8,744]

https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/b-21-raider-has-flown-for-the-first-time?fbclid=IwAR2BQJmOBKHHQJcHLQSR5ChEoyx7ndScu5FIX0PyQITFC4TEcTMlR7iepJY

 

[+daddyairplanes 8,744]

i just realized this has been a helluva week for the future of the USAF, with both their new trainer and new bomber arriving at Edwards for the formal flight test programs

[bazillius 1,252]

Another aircraft, too expensive for real use, created without looking at the experience of modern wars. Although in the game I would like to have this plane. The first series will be built, the second will be canceled and soon put into storage dead standing as inapplicable in a real war as the F-117A. It seems that there have not been the last two years. This is my opinion. If it is interesting for anybody

[+daddyairplanes 8,744]

lets hope the primary war its being designed to fight never happens

the secondary tasks will come though, especially with mentions of things like sigint and battlefield nodes

and the B-2 has done alright over the last 30 years, including over Serbia (NOT a permissive air defense environment). the 117 got benched because 1) oppents had intel on it from the one shot down and 2) newer systems were coming online.

off course, esp. for a military aircraft, its had a very active retirement.......

[bazillius 1,252]

Who you will bomb by this thing? Kabul? For Kabul best choce is F-15E. Moscow? For Moscow cruise missiles and drones. Terrorists? For terrorist now wil be the best... Super Tucano! Or something. This barge will never break through layered defense. And for bombing Kabul, its price-to-effectiveness ratio will be worse than that of the B-52. The appearance of this plane is very strange to me. Looking at the war from the war. 

Now for bombing one need things that are as cheap as possible, but mass-produced, and for defense one need things that are as effective and technologically advanced as possible in combination with very cheap consumables, that is, missiles or shells.

I'm glad for the USA that they can afford such expensive things and that they can develop such technologically advanced aircraft. But the appearance of this plane personally amazes me. There is a special industry in Russia. Inventing and implementing absolutely unnecessary expensive things in order to receive a salary. I think there is something similar in the US.

Otherwise, I simply cannot explain the appearance of this plane. The plane is beautiful, good, but it does not fit the concept of the war that is happening now. Decades have passed since the wars you remembered. Sorry for arguing with you. You just wanted to shared beautiful pictures and you did it. I didn't want to tell you something disappointing. Sorry.

 

[+daddyairplanes 8,744]

1 hour ago, bazillius said:

Who you will bomb by this thing?

the targets the ICBMs dont get to

like the B-2 before it, its primary purpose is to be the manned component of the US nuclear triad. the only part that can be recalled if need be, or be retargeted or just search for targets if needed

as for anyone else, we'll see since nobody here is a fortune teller. if you told me in Jan 2000 that the US would be fighting a counter insurgency in Afghanistan for 20 years I'd have said you were nuts just like everyone else at teh time

i would have figured to be spending the rest of my military career doing peacekeeping just like i was in Kosovo at the time, didnt know there'd be a trip to Iraq and a couple Afghanistans coming up....

------------

so who are we going to bomb with it? hopefully nobody. but somebody will probably get bombs delivered from one, especially if they have more than MANPADS guarding their skies. its not to expensive, it'll get used to show that it was "worth the money"

much more hopefully we dont see it used for its primary purpose, although depending on where one lives we might not see that anyhow......

[bazillius 1,252]

6 minutes ago, daddyairplanes said:

as for anyone else, we'll see since nobody here is a fortune teller.

Well. Let it be. We will see

 

[simonmiller416 1,158]

It is indeed a beautiful aircraft, but I think it looks far less cool than the B2.

Looking at it purely out of appreciation, he is indeed an exceptionally good bird and incorporates many advanced and avant-garde concepts. 

 

3 hours ago, daddyairplanes said:

much more hopefully we dont see it used for its primary purpose

And indeed, just let it become the crystallization of human technology. I hope it will never be used.

[+Jimbib 688]

Flickr album here with high resolution shots:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/81789298@N05/albums/72177720312584936