B-21 Raider's First Flight: Unveiling Secrets and Surprises

The B-21 Raider has flown and we have finally been able to see all sides of this sixth generation bomber including the rear aspect which has until now been hidden from view. If you're an aviation enthusiast or you simply want to be a part of history unfolding there is a lot to unpack here. Let's take a look at what the Raider's first flight reveals to us and why our adversaries should be concerned. One of the more unexpected features of the prototype B-21 Raider serial number 0001 is that it has a name. Yes the aircraft that took flight last Friday is of course a B-21 Raider but thanks to some excellent photography by Point Mugu Skies we can see that this aircraft has been This is no accident. If you recall from your Greek mythology class Cerebus or the Hound of Hades is the multi-headed dog that guards the gates of the underworld to prevent the dead from leaving. This naming is very fitting as the B-21 may well end up being the aircraft with the most destructive flying potential ever. As mentioned the rear aspect of the Raider has been hidden from view until this flight and fortunately it fits in the flight profile that we were hoping for on this channel. Specifically the planform is optimized for high altitude flights. If you remember the development of the B-2 Spirit initially the B-2 was supposed to have the same rear planform but there was a somewhat last-minute requirement that the B-2 needed to fly low-level missions. This caused the bomber to go through extensive redesigns and of course massive cost overruns. In the end the B-2's rear section has a sawtooth look to it which allows it to fly at lower altitudes. Now that we've seen all sides of the B-21 Raider it looks like the low-level flying requirement was not part of the design for this new bomber which is a good thing. Additionally observers watching and recording the bomber's first flight also noticed a long trailing wire an aerial being towed by the B-21 as it flew by. Although this apparatus is the source of much speculation these wires are normal for initial test flights and are used to capture undisturbed air or static measurements as the aircraft flies through the air. Along with this at the front of the aircraft there is a long flight test air data probe which measures among other things the ram air moving into the aircraft similar to the way that a pitot tube works on all airplanes. There are of course numerous other sensors installed all over the aircraft that we can't see. Suffice it to say that Cerebus 1 is a flying super server with untold number of sensors recording everything as the jet flies through the sky. One of the biggest improvements from the B-2 Spirit of which of course the B-21 is based on are the air inlets for the engines. Since the inlets have to protrude from the top of the airframe they can be a source of detection by enemy radars. What the B-21 designers have done is make these inlets as low profile or conformal to the flying wing as possible. Apparently flying wings do not have fuselages it's all really just a single wing for all components including the cockpit housing the main wing structure. Getting back to the air intakes while lowering their profile is beneficial to reducing radar cross-section or RCS to avoid detection the lower intakes do raise some challenges. The first being what is known as boundary layer air. Many modern aircraft and especially stealth ones use an s-shaped or serpentine duct to hide engine fan blades from radar. The fan blades on a turbine engine are essentially perpendicular to the airflow and as a result is like a large mirror for detection radars. Basically if exposed these fan blades can turn into a giant windmill saying here i am to the detection radar. Because of this airplane designers create convoluted air tunnels to keep feeding the engine vital air while hiding these blades from outside view. Lowering the intakes on the B-21 causes even more challenges as you start to approach the point at which not enough air is entering the engine. Keep in mind we're just talking about level flight. Things get interesting when the aircraft is flying supersonic or the aircraft is pitching up during moments like takeoff climb and even landing. These higher pitch flight regimes introduce high angle of attack or high alpha and can limit even further the amount of air being delivered to the engines. In the case of the B-2 Spirit to overcome this it uses butterfly inlet doors that open up to allow air entering during these moments of high alpha or other flight regimes that can restrict airflow into the engines. The B-21 radar appears to follow a similar strategy by using large triangular doors that open up to allow airflow into the engines which interestingly give the radar horns or a devilish appearance which could be another reason the first jet has been named Cerebus. It is almost difficult to understate how important keeping the height of these inlets as low as possible is. You could argue it is the biggest factor in determining how stealthy the radar ends up being. It's that critical and speaking of the engines we still as of the making of this video do not know the type or even number of engines the radar has but given its size it seems very likely that the B-21 has two engines even though early speculation called for four engines. Ultimately we'll just have to wait and see. Another area of the bomber we were able to look at which we haven't seen before was the belly. We can now clearly see the apparent single weapons bay which given the B-21's smaller size as compared to the B-2 the weapons bay is smaller and almost definitely has less capacity than the larger B-2. Then there is the question as to what weapons the B-21 radar will be able to carry and employ. One of the largest the GBU-57B massive ordinance penetrator or MOP great acronym by the way is the world's most powerful conventional bunker buster. Designed to take out underground targets literally buried under mountains this 30,000 pound bomb can only be carried by a few aircraft. Today the B-2 Spirit can carry two while the smaller B-21 can only likely carry one. However the weapons bay will be designed to be smarter meaning the ordinance packages will take advantage of the B-21's open architecture systems so that new weapons new configurations of weapons and even air launched drones can be employed by the radar. What we still don't know is whether the B-21 will have secondary weapons bays like we've seen in both the F-35 Lightning and the F-22 Raptor. In both these aircraft the secondary bays house heat-seeking AIM-9 Sidewinders. We can envision the B-21 making use of secondary weapons bays to house self-protection air-to-air missiles like Sidewinders or even AIM-120 AMRAAMs. Given the fact that the radar is an all-new aircraft it could also make use of the AIM-260 Joint Advanced Tactical Missile or JATM. Since we haven't seen the radar with open bay doors yet it is possible that these secondary bays could be right next to the main weapons bay but until we see more we just don't know. What we do know so far is that the B-21 is keeping its lighter color as compared to the B-2 Spirit. One of the first things that we noticed during last year's reveal is that the radar appears to be coated in a light gray or white coating. Where older stealth aircraft like the Nighthawk and Spirit are coated in a much darker gray. The radar's light gray coating seems to indicate that the aircraft could be able to operate in day or night conditions. Another interesting feature of the B-21, although this is common to flying wings, is how much smaller it looks from the side. While flying wings are wide to produce the necessary lift they are not as long as conventional aircraft. You can see this when we view our 3D model of the radar next to a B-52. This shorter length undoubtedly plays a role in reducing the RCF to the aircraft from all angles. As we learn more about the 6th generation radar I'll continue to make updated videos with updated 3D models. Much has happened since last year's reveal and if you're anything like me you can't wait to find out more. What do you think? Is the Raider the most advanced aircraft flying in the air today? What will the RCS be like when it's all said and done? Let me know in the comments below. Thanks to my channel members and patrons for directly supporting this video. If you'd like to help this channel deliver more content that you love then check out the links below. I'd also like to thank Point Mugu Skies, an excellent aviation photographer who was generous enough to allow me to use his images for this video. Go check out his Instagram, he takes incredible photos of military aircraft. And finally, as the Raider leaves its Plant 42 facility in Palmdale to head for what we assume to be Area 51, we have to say so long and thanks for all the fish. In the last Raider video many of you got that reference. I'd love to see your comments combining the number 42 and Area 51. You guys come up with some great stuff. The first flying B-21 Raider, serial number 0001, aka Cerebus, is making history right before our eyes. Now you know!