How the Navy’s top officer will prep the service for war with China

On the same subject

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  July 2, 2024 | International, Aerospace

  Marines sink moving vessel at sea with new missile in Pacific training

  The missile gives users better standoff and true "fire and forget" capabilities.

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  March 30, 2020 | International, Aerospace

  New USAF Materials Hint At High-Altitude Role For B-21

  Steve Trimble The design of the Northrop Grumman B-21's trailing edge has led to speculation about a high-altitude role for the secretive stealth bomber, and new U.S. Air Force statements appear to confirm that analysis. As the U.S. Air Force enters a legally required environmental impact review process for basing the new bomber, service officials disclosed a few new details about the design on large poster boards displayed at public meetings since February. The posters are now available on B21EIS.com, a clearinghouse web site set up by the Air Force to share data during the year-long process to complete the final environmental impact statement. “The B-21 is not expected to use low altitude training routes,” the Air Force poster says. The B-2 was originally conceived as a high-altitude bomber, but a last-minute requirements change during the development phase forced Northrop Grumman to redesign the bomber for a low-altitude mission. As a result, the trailing edge was transformed from a simple W-shape to the sawtooth design seen today. The B-2, like the preceding B-52 and B-1B fleets, need low-altitude training routes. The renderings of the B-21 released by the Air Force so far reveal a trailing edge that resembles the original, high-altitude design for the B-2. The Air Force has never confirmed operational details about the future stealth bomber. Another comment on the Air Force's poster provides the first official description of the B-21's acoustic signature, as well as the performance of the engines. “The B-21 engine noise is expected to be quieter than the B-1B and about the same or quieter than the B-2,” the poster says. Previously, the only detail released by the Air Force about the B-21's engines is that Pratt & Whitney is named as one of seven of Northrop's suppliers. The poster data appears to confirm expectations that the B-21 would use a non-afterburning engine, like the similarly subsonic, flying wing-shaped, B-2. The supersonic B-1B is powered by afterburning engines. The Air Force has selected Ellsworth Air Force Base in South Dakora as the site for the first B-21 operational squadron, followed by Dyess AFB in Texas and Whiteman AFB, Missouri. The environmental impact review is evaluating Ellsworth and Dyess for the main operating beddown 1 location. https://aviationweek.com/defense-space/aircraft-propulsion/new-usaf-materials-hint-high-altitude-role-b-21

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  February 6, 2024 | International, Aerospace

  Persistent Systems to supply radios for US Air Force mobility command

  The MPU5 handheld radios furnished by Persistent Systems support voice, video and text sharing, as well as positioning and sensor data.