The first photo of the B-21 Raider from above reveals new secrets

Captured during in-flight refueling tests, it’s the first complete aerial view of the U.S. Air Force’s new stealth nuclear bomber. The image reveals details such as new air intakes and engine exits.

Finally, we have an image of the new B-21 Raider top view, obtained while the aircraft was flying immediately behind a refueling plane, in the pre-contact position, moments before connecting for in-flight refueling.

Until now, the public had only seen one front imageslightly elevated, of the stealth bomber. This superior, more accentuated perspective shows some components hitherto invisibleincluding engine outputs.

If everything goes as planned, this bomber will be the backbone of the Pentagon’s nuclear-capable long-range component, says .

Critics point out that building a huge manned stealth aircraftdependent on constant aerial refueling, it might not make sense operational in the new era of warfare, in which cheap autonomous drones who fight.

O B-21 may become obsolete even before completing its testing period, some analysts consider, but the top secret program Northrop Grumman is meeting its commitments, both in terms of deadlines and budget, in contrast to the company’s turbulent development history.

According to , the B-2 Spirit program went into decline in what became known as a “budgetary death spiral”, a financial collapse that influenced bomber design decisions.

The fact that new images of the Raider continue to appear as testing progresses is a positive sign that the program is well underway to reach initial operational capacity — with, according to the company, the first aircraft is expected to arrive at Ellsworth Air Force Base in 2027.

The perspective seen from above let me see for the first timetwo of the best-kept aspects of the design so far. The first are the ar tickets — openings in the upper part of the fuselage that channel air to the engines — deeply integrated into the structure.

The second is the two engine exhaust systemhoused in the deepest areas of the fuselage, with V-shaped cut-out openings, oriented in the opposite direction to that of the B-2.

Both sets of outlets are placed much further ahead on the new aircraft, instead of appearing in the rear section — a setting that will allegedly help hide the device’s infrared signature.

It is known that, in the war with Iran, the defenses of the ayatollahs’ dictatorial regime managed to follow the thermal profile of the supposedly stealthy F-35 fighterhitting him mid-flight and forcing him to return to base.

The way the aircraft can withstand thermal load of these engines buried in the wing cremains, for now, an unknown.

The image does not show any material designed to attenuate exhaust heat before it reaches the external structure: neither flat external cooling panels of the kind used on the B-2, nor any ducting that directs buried exhaust to the tail section.

It is possible that the photograph has been altered before publication, to keep these mechanisms hidden, says Interesting Engineering.

Viewed from above, the cabin stands out for its reduced amount of glass: a minimum glazing area makes the aircraft harder to detectmost likely as a result of a balance between the pilot’s visibility, necessary for in-flight refueling, and the objective of minimizing the frontal radar section.

The image also captures the fuel outletopen on the plane’s dorsal surface, surrounded by the same painted guidance markings that are used on the Air Force’s F-22 and F-35 fighter jets.

Based on a side profile image from the same flight, The War Zone calculates that the B-21 is approximately length of an F-15 fighter. The wingspan is between 44 and 47 meterswhich makes it much smaller than the B-2.

This smaller dimension translates into a reduced weapons load than that of the older bomber and, most likely, on just two engines, instead of the four used by the B-2. THE fuselage shape is also different da do B-2 Spirit.

According to The War Zone, the aircraft will, in theory, have greater fuel capacity, which could allow it to reach a much greater range of action what the B-2 can cover from a tanker plane.

According to Northrop Grumman, “being the most efficient bomber in built fuel consumption, the B-21 consumes only a fraction of the fuel used by fourth and fifth generation aircraft.”

“This reduces logistical pressure over air tankers in the theater of operations and gives operational commanders greater flexibility in the configuration of forces”, adds the company.