By Kris Osborn, President, Center for Military Modernization
Covered in “Space-Age Coating,” durable, stealthy, nuclear-capable, intel-gathering capable, drone controlling and very long range … are a few of the terms Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin used to describe the burgeoning new B-21 Raider stealth bomber.
“You know, the B-21 looks imposing. But what’s under the frame and the space-age coatings is even more impressive,” Austin told an audience.
Austin’s remarks were likely quite “general” by design, given that the cutting edge program is almost entirely “black,” meaning not available to the public for obvious security reasons. However, Austin’s remarks did offer a critical window into key areas of emphasis for the new bomber, which is expected to start arriving in coming years. Members of Congress, think tanks and even some Air Force senior leaders have in recent years suggested the possibility that perhaps the planned fleet size for the B-21 should be much larger than the planned 100 planes and possibly double up to more than 225. Future budgets may adjust the service’s plans for the fleet, yet the expected program plan is to acquire as many as 100, the first several of which are already well along and under construction and slated to take to the sky in coming months.
Senior leaders have said very little about the bomber in the years it has been under-development, yet Austin’s remarks indicate a few points of technological focus for the platform. We’ve heard from Pentagon and Air Force developers in recent months and even years that the B-21 is likely to be unmanned-capable and also likely able to control small fleets of mini-drone loyal wingman platforms to extend its reach, blanket areas with surveillance, tests enemy air defenses and support a multi-domain “meshed” network of interconnected “nodes” throughout multi-domain formations.
We’ve also heard that the B-21 incorporates paradigm-changing dimensions of stealth technology and, as Austin put it, incorporates “fifty-years of advances in low-observable technology.”
Enemy Air Defenses
“Even the most sophisticated air-defense systems will struggle to detect a B-21 in the sky,” Austin said last December at the unveiling of the platform. While the particular stealth properties woven into the B-21 are unavailable, there are some general parameters or areas of focus fundamental to achieving low-observability or a “stealth” ability to elude enemy air defenses and tracking systems. The most noticeable element of stealth is often configuration, as one can clearly see that the B-21 is rounded, horizontal, sleek and built with a blended wing-body formation. The fewer sharp edges, protruding structures or angled contours on an aircraft, the stealthier an aircraft is as it presents a massively reduced or restricted ability for electromagnetic “pings” from ground-based radar to deliver a rendering or return signal of an object. Stealthy aircraft, for example, are engineered to appear similar to a small bird to enemy radar and completely avoid both lower-frequency “surveillance” radar and higher frequency “engagement” or targeting radar technologies. Electromagnetic signals can determine the shape, size and even speed of an object by virtue of bouncing electrons off of a surface and analyzing the return signal to obtain a rendering of an object.
For example, to the naked eye, the B-21 simply looks a bit “stealthier” than the B-2, as evidenced by the rounded or more “blended-in” engine inlets. The B-2s engine inlets are on top of the fuselage like the B-21s, yet they are boxier, more rectangular and angled than the smoother blended curves of the B-21’s more “embedded” engine inlets. Reducing the angles of difference is likely to generate a different or much smaller and less detailed radar return signature, making it much more difficult for enemy ground systems to “determine” what an object in the sky might actually be. Also on the external side of things, stealth aircraft are regularly covered in highly-secret “radar absorbing” materials designed to essentially sponge up or “absorb” electromagnetic “pings” from ground radar. The nature and composition of these materials are, quite understandably, not available for security reasons, yet it is likely that the B-21 may contain new generations of stealth coating materials.
Ground-based air defense radar technologies have become increasingly sensitive and precise, longer-range, better networked through digital processing and capable of operating on a wider range of frequencies. These technologies, as exhibited by Russian S-400 and Chinese HQ-9 air defenses, have vastly increased the risk to stealth platforms in recent years and inspired a need for a new generation of low-observable technology.
The aim with the B-21, as was also the case with the B-2, is to enter, occupy and attack an enemy area without an enemy having any clear idea that anything is there at all. Its called broadband stealth, and the aim is to remain entirely clandestine and “undetectable.”
There are many properties which contribute to an aircraft’s “stealth” characteristics, with many of them related to temperature. Apart from more visible elements such as an aircraft’s stealthy configuration, stealth aircraft are known for having internally buried or “embedded” engines to decrease and regulate an aircraft’s “thermal signature.” The more the temperature of an aircraft mirrors or aligns with the surrounding atmosphere, the less detectable it is to infrared or temperature-sensitive kinds of ground sensors. As part of this effort, most stealth aircraft are engineered with special kinds of “exhaust” areas to control, monitor, regulate or in many cases simply “reduce” the heat signature emanating from the aircraft.
Finally, both speed and altitude can be stealth-enhancing attributes, as an aircraft further away at higher altitude is less likely to generate a clear “rendering” to ground based radar. Several technologies can make its altitude ceiling higher, the most significant of which is likely sensing. For example, should targeting sensors evolve to the point where they can deliver an increasingly precise, high-fidelity signal to the aircraft from much higher altitudes, a stealth bomber can maintain optimal effectiveness and attack capability from much farther away.
B-21 Can Attack “Anywhere in the World”
Apart from the somewhat mysterious and unknown technologies which may enable a new generation of stealth, there are other reasons why Senior Air Force leaders have for many years said the new bomber will operate with an ability to hold “any target at risk…anywhere in the world…..at any time.” Former Air Force Military Deputy Ret. Gen. Arnold Bunch mentioned this to Warrior many years ago as far back as 2015, and sure enough Secretary Austin used similar language at the unveiling of the aircraft in December of 2022.
“Let’s talk about the B-21’s range. No other long-range bomber can match its efficiency. It won’t need to be based in-theater. It won’t need logistical support to hold any target at risk,” Austin said.
During Operation Enduring Freedom over Afghanistan, B-2s became famous fo
r making 44-hour operational sorties from Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri all the way to Diego Garcia off the coast of India. This was a staging area from which B-2s could launch missions against Taliban targets in Afghanistan, and Austin’s comment suggests in a general way that the B-21 might be able to operate with an even greater and more superior range, meaning it can hold targets at risk anywhere in the world without needing to land. Available specs say a B-2 can fly 6,000 miles without needing to refuel, so it is likely that the B-21 will operate with an even farther reach. Range matters not only when it comes to having an ability to “get to” and attack far away enemy locations, but also in terms of “dwell time.” Longer range for a bomber means it can spend more time “re-targeting,” adjusting to new intelligence or “searching” for new targets without needing to return. This maximizes mission efficiency, reduces risk by lowering the number of needed missions and, if supported by networking, enables a bomber to respond in near real time to changing threat information.
When it comes to threat information, Austin also made it clear that the bomber will be “multifunctional,” meaning it will perform a wide range of missions beyond simply “attacking” or dropping bombs.
“It can handle anything from gathering intel to battle management to integrating with our allies and partners. And it will work seamlessly across domains, and theaters, and across the joint force,” Austin said.
By referring to “intel” and “battle management,” Austin was clear that the mission envelope for the B-21 will expand to include the ability to operate as a surveillance and intel “node” in the sky gathering, processing and transmitting time-sensitive war detail across multiple domains as part of a “meshed,” integrated joint, multi-national war operation.
Not surprisingly, very little information is available when it comes to B-21 weapons, however Austin did of course say it would be “nuclear capable” as an integral part of the air leg of the nuclear deterrence triad. Senior Pentagon and Air Force leaders have also been clear that the B-21 will likely be armed with long-range, air-launched cruise missiles, some of which could be nuclear capable as well.
Upgraded Stealthy B-2 Will “Live On for Years”
It might seem like the stealthy, bat-winged B-2 bomber is being slightly eclipsed by the celebrated and much anticipated arrival of the Air Force’s new B-21 bomber, yet the service continues to take vigorous measures to ensure the small fleet of 20 B-2 bombers remain relevant, highly lethal and important to future operations.
The first and perhaps most pressing reason for this can be understood in terms of timing and fleet size, as the Air Force has long planned to ensure the B-2 remains effective and flies alongside the B-21 until sufficient numbers of the new B-21 Raider arrive. While the Air Force is planning to add at least 100 B-21s, they will of course arrive incrementally over a number of years, and the Air Force cannot leave itself vulnerable with a problematic bomber deficit. In recent years, senior Air Force leaders have been clear that, even at current and anticipated levels for the immediate future, there are simply not enough bombers to meet Combatant Commander demand.
This means the B-2 will not only fly on, but operate with a wide range of performance enhancing upgrades to ensure it remains highly effective against emerging advanced air defenses such as Chinese HQ-9s and Russian S-400s and S-500s.
There are a variety of cutting edge enhancements intended to enable the B-2s ability to operate in extremely high-threat modern environments, such as the ongoing addition of new, air-defenses detecting sensors, high-speed computing and weapons applications. In recent years, the Air Force and Northrop Grumman have been adding new sensors called Defensive Management Systems which help pilot crews identify the location of air defenses so as to effectively avoid flying within their radar aperture or minimize risk of exposure to ground fire.
B-2 Computing and Weapons
Other B-2 enhancements involve US Air Force and Northrop Grumman collaborative efforts to integrate new computer processing which is 1,000-fold faster than existing or previous computers. While many additional details regarding upgrades to the B-2 are understandably not likely to be available for security reasons, clearly faster computing is likely to greatly improve targeting, sensing and networking with other platforms across a joint, multi-domain operational environment. There may be AI-related enhancements and gateways added to enable data sharing across otherwise incompatible transport layers such as RF signals, satellite-transmitted data or other kinds of wireless technologies and datalinks able to link the B-2 as a surveillance and target-sharing “node” across dispersed, multi-domain formations.
The B-2 is also receiving weapons enhancements as well, such as the upgraded nuclear B-61 Mod 12 variant, a new variant of the decades old B-61 which combines different variants into a single munition. The “mod 12,” as it is called, combines the ability to drop earth penetrating nuclear missions, above-ground “area” detonations and lower-yield applications to tailor a nuclear strike for a specific operational purpose. This allows a greater envelope of attack possibilities for a single bomb, increasing efficiency and removing the need to carry large numbers of different variants.
Image Credit – Howard Altman/USAF – Published in The Drive
Kris Osborn is the Military Affairs Editor of 19FortyFive and President of Warrior Maven – Center for Military Modernization. Osborn previously served at the Pentagon as a Highly Qualified Expert with the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army—Acquisition, Logistics & Technology. Osborn has also worked as an anchor and on-air military specialist at national TV networks. He has appeared as a guest military expert on Fox News, MSNBC, The Military Channel, and The History Channel. He also has a Masters Degree in Comparative Literature from Columbia University
