The mysterious B-2 (bomber) causes a huge number of judgments, mythical legends, sayings. What is this aircraft, if we talk about reliable facts? The American aircraft, the third-generation invisibility has been in operation for over 15 years and, despite the veil of secrecy, data on technological devices and characteristics of the winged ship appear in the world information field.
general description
The B-2 strategic bomber, a product of the US military industry, is being developed as an aircraft with a reduced ability to detect enemy air forces. It does not become completely invisible, since special tracking systems determine it on the radar screens, but for ordinary air defense it is invisible, which indicates its survival under bombardment conditions.
The appearance of the aircraft, which resembles aircraft from a science fiction film, is impressive. The B-2 Spirit bomber looks like a swiftly racing black flap of a triangular shape in the sky, a look in profile reveals in it a real flying saucer, flattened, without tail or fuselage.
To ensure the invisibility function, advanced stealth technologies are used:
- the outer surface of the aircraft is covered with materials with a high degree of absorption of radio waves;
- the design scheme of aerodynamics "flying wing" is applied;
- jet engine shielding is used; the EPR value is in the range from 0.0015 to 0.1 sq. m
Principal design features of the aircraft
The B-2 Spirit bomber is made in the form of a wing; the scheme assumes the complete absence of vertical components of plumage. As steering rudders splitting shields are installed on the end of the wings. Most of the body and main parts are made of titanium and aluminum alloys. Additional materials are carbon fiber and polyamides with a high coefficient of heat resistance.
The B-2 Spirit strategic bomber has a supporting element in the form of a titanium caisson located in the front half of the hull and continuing in the intermediate sections. The wings of the aircraft are made of carbon fiber. Monolithic panels of a titanium caisson are made 23 mm thick. The parts are interconnected by diffuse welding or improved plastic molding.
The form
The formation of appearance is based on a system of four petals, and the shape of the aircraft is created by 12 lines. This concentrates the reflection in the horizontal plane and in a small number of sectors of the central part. The rear and front frames of the hulls, hatches, engine compartments, sash of the chassis opening, parallel to each other, create 4 sectors of the main display. With front and rear hemispheres, 2 sectors are obtained.
In the frontal and lateral projection, the winged ship does not have planes and straight lines. At the base of the wing is a structure that absorbs radio waves. The front part of the aircraft edge is performed at an acute angle of 33º, and the rear is made in the form of the English letter W. In the middle of the wing half-span, the point of the upper break is determined, the B-2 Northrop bomber has a supercritical wing profile.
The aircraft is equipped with 4 engines located on both sides of the bomb bay. To ensure an inconspicuous mode in the sky, the engine nozzles are designed flat, there are no gaps on the outer surface of the aircraft, and the engines and weapons are located inside the device.
Design flaws
The fact that the winged ship lacks tail feathering does not prevent it from dashing maneuvering in the air, B-2 stealth bomber poorly maintain the chosen course in the sky due to the lack of a vertical keel. The rotation is carried out by the roll of the aircraft, at which the force on the lower wing decreases, and the upper one takes on increasing lifting force, which leads to a turn of the device in the desired direction. In aviation, there is the concept of “wing load”, which is one of the most important parameters of a ship. The less a kilogram affects one square centimeter of a wing, the easier it is for an airplane to make turns in the air. This increases the maneuverability of the bomber.
You cannot control the bomber without installing an electric remote control system and automatic devices that monitor the flight process and issue command pulses to the mechanical parts of the wings.
Cab device
The aircraft is piloted by two crew members, the B-2 (bomber), the photo of which is presented below, is equipped for this with an airtight cabin located in front of the aircraft.
Pilots get to the workplace through a compartment in the front landing gear via a folding ladder. For each pilot in the workplace there is a complete set of control devices. Buttons for starting engines and aircraft on-board equipment systems are provided at the same place. These buttons are placed in case of alarm.
The protection of the transparent part of the cab consists of 4 panels of a multilayer design, allowing horizontal viewing at an angle of 200º. In case of a nuclear explosion near the plane, a glass with gold components is applied to the glass, which becomes opaque and does not transmit radiation. Flight of aviators is carried out in anti-laser glasses.
Aircraft control system
The B-2 bomber is equipped with additional electric remote control, which is a digital system, quad-duplex with elements of quick response. Automatic control contains four computing units and remains in operable state when two of them fail. The air signal system contains 20 sensors for reading pressure readings, which makes it hardly noticeable.
The American B-2 bomber in the on-board equipment complex has an NSS class navigation subsystem. Lightning-fast response to changing flight situations is carried out by two interconnected electronic units: IMU (inertial) and AIU (astroinertial). Each of the pilots observes 4 indicators of multifunctional action.
History of creation
During the Cold War between the USSR and America in 1979, R. Reagan during the election campaign promises to restore the armament of the American army. A year later, the US government intends to create a series of promising aircraft for the rapid delivery of ammunition to the affected area, and the B-2 invisible bomber is not the first on the list. Pragmatic Americans look at every dollar in the world before investing in any business. A fantastic aircraft with increased capabilities and reduced visibility seemed like a project with reasonable prospects and was under special control of the US government.
Northrop Grumman is developing an inconspicuous strategic bomber that is designed to break through a tight anti-aircraft tracking system and deliver nuclear and other weapons. It is being developed based on the ATV industrial program.
The project is code-named B-2 with the symbol Spirit. The hitch that arose in 1987 due to the lack of a design solution delayed the start of testing until 1989 and increased project financing by another billion dollars. Financiers by 1989 determine the cost of creating a new aircraft at 23.1 billion dollars.
The first copy gets a ticket to life at a military plant in California, where it passes its first flight and demonstration to interested segments of the public. Due to the high cost, only 21 B-2 Spirit Stealts are being built. All combat vehicles receive personal names that match the names of the states of America. The last copy of the winged ship called "Spirit of America" was put into service with the army in July 2000.
Aircraft upgrade
In 2008, Congress of America funded a program to modernize the B-2 (bomber). The defeat management system of moving ground targets and the radar network are undergoing positive changes. The year 2009 increases the carrying capacity of the aircraft, which is 27 tons, halved in the right and left compartments. In 2010, the aircraft panel material will be improved, making even the recent cracking of the part impossible.
The panel is located between the engines, violation of its surface is associated with the fact that metal fatigue gradually accumulates, leading to cracks. It closes the composite frame from a reactive hot jet and is exposed to high temperatures, vibration plays an important role in the operation of power plants. The company's engineers cope with the task of making changes to the design of the tail and the use of more advanced steels.
In April 2010, the bomber received advanced software, a new navigation and progressive communication system. And in September 2012, changes were made to the aircraft control regarding the installation of the upgraded radar AN / APQ-181 with the AFAR radar available. Updates are complemented by a more advanced communication system and equipment replacement in the on-board compartment.
Technical characteristics of the combat vehicle
The manned bomber has excellent technical characteristics. The B-2 (bomber) is equipped with aviation electronics. The FLIR IR system creates an extended view, the HANIUAL altimeter with a radio wave is designed so that its signal is not detected by the enemy during reconnaissance.
For movement in the given coordinates, a navigation system of inertial action is installed, there is a channel for exchanging data with reconnaissance satellites. The accurate release of the guided ammunition of the JDAM system in the specified range is ensured by the target device. The aircraft has an associated system of sensors that transmit data to the control system about a change in the situation outside the vessel.
The aircraft is equipped with an AFAR radar, but this is not a characteristic device for an inconspicuous aircraft, it is worth releasing one signal and enemy air defense will detect the aircraft. For example, the old F-117 has only passive means of data collection. Technical characteristics of the aircraft:
- two pilots are freely located in the cockpit;
- the length of the flying cruiser is 20.9 m;
- the device has a wingspan of 52.1 m;
- aircraft height - 5.1 m;
- wing surface area - 460 m 2 ;
- empty cruiser without filling weighs 71.7 tons;
- normal and maximum takeoff masses are 152.6 and 171 tons, respectively;
- fuel for refueling the device for the entire flight period weighs 73 tons;
- payload before modernization and after - 22.7 and 27 tons, respectively;
- twin-turbojet aircraft engine, weighs 1.452 tons;
- maximum possible flight speed - 860 km / h;
- the average speed of the cruiser is 776 km / h, the combat area captures a radius of 5310 km;
- the flight range is 11110 km, the travel time to - 6.5 hours, the B-2 (bomber) rises to a maximum of 15,000 m.
Weapons used
To hit the target, nuclear weapons of 340 k / ton, 1.1 m / ton are used. Conventional 16 x 84 bombs and 36 x cluster bombs 80 x 82 are transported aboard an aircraft. High-precision weapons are used, cruise missiles are used as weapons.
There is a common myth that the B-2 bomber is not capable of using cruise missiles. This is not true, since in this case the carrier needs to suspend the ammunition in the bomb compartment and move it to a predetermined drop point, which the device can easily handle.
Invisibility disadvantages
Wide sections of the US military and congressmen are simply deceived in the best possible expectations. Not all people have knowledge in the field of radio engineering, and even more so in the phenomenon of diffraction of electromagnetic radiation. Lecturers spoke before them with the idea of creating an invisible bomber, scientists vied with each other promised to create such an aircraft today and infected many people with this idea.
But the effectiveness of the idea is somewhat doubtful, the resulting dispersion area of the aircraft remains in the range from 0.0015 to 0.1 m 2 . This characteristic far exceeds the readings, for example, of a fighter, in which the EPR is 3-4 m 2 . At first glance, the dispersion area is in the best range.
But the reduced EPR of the bomber does not become a critical indicator of its invisibility. Dispersion reduction is only effective for flying over legacy air defense models. Modern modifications of radars are able to make out an airplane with such a dispersion region at a distance of ten to twenty kilometers.
Flat forms, the absence of vertical lines and tail plumage makes it impossible to stay on the chosen course, and this requires the installation of expensive electronic control.
There were practical problems with infrared radiation, despite the joint efforts of engineers and scientists. They try to place the engines on top of the aircraft, change the nozzle outlet openings for accelerated cooling of the products of burnt fuel. This gives its results, but the ideal concealment of a jet of hot exhaust does not work.
Eyewitness accounts at various modern exhibitions indicate that through the pupil of the thermal imager the aircraft is very noticeable and clearly visible. The device can be seen by the enemy, in which case the B-2 (bomber) is doomed to destruction.
Equivalent to a large crowd of aircraft
According to the calculations of military scientists, to inflict damage in the depths of the enemy’s location, F-16 bombers in the amount of 32 vehicles using high-precision weapons require a lot of accompanying equipment. The escort consists of 16 fighters, 4 jamming airplanes, 8 aircraft for suppressing radar and a whole flock of tankers (15 pieces) that provide the above crews with fuel.
An absolutely identical blow to power is dealt by a group of invisible F-117s of 8 aircraft, accompanied by two basic refueling tanks. But the American B-2 bomber takes a leading position in this comparative analysis - a similar task requires the presence of only two stealth systems in the air and does not require the use of fuel tankers, since the maximum flight range does not require refueling in the sky. As you can see, the savings are obvious.
Invisible Bomber Crash
The accident occurred on the island of Guam. Four of the aircraft that have been based on the island for the last 4 months leave the airfield. A bomber with the name "Kansas Spirit" takes off second. A characteristic clap is heard, an exhaust of thick smoke appears at some distance from the tower of the dispatcher. Fire and sanitary services are called, but the plane cannot be saved, it is completely destroyed.
The crew of the first airplane taking off was ordered to urgently return to the place of deployment, all flights of this type of bombers were suspended until the initial causes of the accident were clarified. The pilots managed to eject and received not very severe injuries, one was discharged on the second day, and the other was treated for some time in a hospital.
It is assumed that the cause of the accident was a breakdown of the mechanism or the action of the human factor. After a study by a special commission, conclusions were drawn that the explosion of the B-2 stealth bomber occurred as a result of engine failure.
Career bomber career
For the first time, a bomber was used during the NATO war in Yugoslavia, where about 600 high-precision munitions were dropped. Characteristically, the planes carried out bombardment without change, they left the base in Missouri, dropped bombs in Kosovo and flew back.
The Iraq war provides a new springboard for hostilities. The invisible bomber B-2 takes off from the atoll Diego Garcia and another secret base without disclosing the name. In total, planes make about 22 sorties. Whiteman airbase released 27 aircraft stuffed with ammunition, which, together with the first bombing, dropped more than 300 tons of bombs into Iraq. The average stay in the air was 30 hours, while it is noted that the largest record duration belongs to one of the crews in the sky for more than 50 hours.
A lot of experience in a combat career adds participation in the bombing of Libya in 2011, in which ammunition was dropped on 45 ground targets. For a tiny series of release of 21 bombers, a very good combat experience is noted.
Summarizing
B-2 Spirit Stealth combat bomber the history of its creation shows how it is not necessary to produce aircraft. Despite the abundant hype spun around the idea of creating an invisible aircraft, it was not possible to release an ideal aircraft for an advertising description. Super-expensive bombers do more damage to the US Congress than to its opponents. The investment of billions of dollars is not at all justified; there is little efficiency in connection with the growing new technologies for detecting air targets.
The story of stealth bombers does not end on such a sad note; the fact that many countries are adopting well-known technology becomes optimistic. Obviously, it has a rational application, another thing is how much the invested funds correspond to the result obtained.