B2 Bombers doing the elephant walk

[81Sprint]

Crazy to think these were developed during the cold war, seems so long ago. Such a badass plane!

MSN

 

[bonesfab]

Developed back in the eighties. just think what might be out there now they aren't telling us about. This and the stealth fighter, bad ass planes for the day and to this day.

 

[HCP3]

Their successor will be unveiled on December 2nd.

10 Facts About Northrop Grumman’s B-21 Raider

Northrop Grumman’s B-21 Raider will be unveiled Dec. 2 at the company’s site in Palmdale, Calif., marking the first time the world’s first sixth-generation aircraft will be seen by the public. When delivered to the Air Force...

news.northropgrumman.com

 

[81Sprint]

Developed back in the eighties. just think what might be out there now they aren't telling us about. This and the stealth fighter, bad ass planes for the day and to this day.

The new one called the B-21 Raider is supposed to be unveiled to the public in the next week, supposedly to retire the B-2

 

[stephenkatsea]

Had the opportunity to observe our B-1s operate out of Diego Garcia. They’re called Bones for 2 reasons, B Ones and the fact that they rattled your bones when they took off. Seemed the take offs were typically at night. The 50’ feet or so of purple flames coming out of their massive engines was a very memorable sight. Their destinations for their missions were far away, in the Middle East. Sometime after they took off, the large slow tankers would then take off. The B-1s would run up to the ME, drop their ordinance, then meet up with the tankers somewhere over the Indian Ocean, to take on the needed fuel to get back to Diego Garcia. Long after the B-1s returned, we’d see the tankers come back. There were over 5,000 USAF ground personnel living there in tents, providing the support for our B-1s. An amazing operation, for sure.

Here's a video of B-1s taking off at night. Best viewed wearing headphones, with the volume maxed out. As mentioned elsewhere in this thread, observing this in person brought on an instant and massive case of American Pride.

 

[monkeyswrench]

The technology of the B-2 is extraordinary...just the stuff that keeps it airborne is really impressive. For an Elephant Walk though, seeing the B-52's rolling down the tarmac still gets my vote.

 

[DarkHorseRacing]

My HS physics teacher had a side job working for Hughes Labs on systems for the B-2. He was always hinting at stuff but could never really say anything. I think he was on the radar team or something similar (as Hughes makes a lot of radar and ECM for military).

 

[WhatExit?]

Talk about old, there’s a huge program underway retrofitting B-52s with modern engines.

THAT bomber is OLD

 

[4Waters]

Talk about old, there’s a huge program underway retrofitting B-52s with modern engines.

THAT bomber is OLD

Tells you that they can't replace the B52 yet, it took a long time to replace the F14, as technology got better and computers got smaller they were able to keep upgrading that plane, when they retired it the pilot could lock onto 6 or 7 targets at once so that tells you that they can do way more than that now.

 

[81Sprint]

The technology of the B-2 is extraordinary...just the stuff that keeps it airborne is really impressive. For an Elephant Walk though, seeing the B-52's rolling down the tarmac still gets my vote.

 

[81Sprint]

Seeing the B52 in person is equally impressive!

 

[lake p.a.l.]

Had the opportunity to observe our B-1s operate out of Diego Garcia. They’re called Bones for 2 reasons, B Ones and the fact that they rattled your bones when they took off. Seemed the take offs were typically at night. The 50’ feet or so of purple flames coming out of their massive engines was a very memorable sight. Their destinations for their missions were far away, in the Middle East. Sometime after they took off, the large slow tankers would then take off. The B-1s would run up to the ME, drop their ordinance, then meet up with the tankers somewhere over the Indian Ocean, to take on the needed fuel to get back to Diego Garcia. Long after the B-1s returned, we’d see the tankers come back. There were over 5,000 USAF ground personnel living there in tents, providing the support for our B-1s. An amazing operation, for sure.

My brother spent a bunch of time in Diego Garcia during Desert Storm & has many incredible stories. Thank you to all who served

 

[4Waters]

I've posted this a few times but it doesn't get old

 

[JDKRXW]

Crazy to think these were developed during the cold war, seems so long ago. Such a badass plane!


View attachment 1176780

MSN

Hard to believe they would put that many at one airfield.... let alone being on the same runway at one time.

 

[SHOCKtheMONKEY]

My new Son in law does maintenance on B52's. I got to check one out, including the inside, at the hanger on the AF base.
I have pictures but can't post them. It was a blast and I got hit with a big case of "Proud American".
Supposed to keep flying them until sometime in the 2050's.

 

[Flying_Lavey]

Talk about old, there’s a huge program underway retrofitting B-52s with modern engines.

THAT bomber is OLD

Tells you that they can't replace the B52 yet, it took a long time to replace the F14, as technology got better and computers got smaller they were able to keep upgrading that plane, when they retired it the pilot could lock onto 6 or 7 targets at once so that tells you that they can do way more than that now.

Same with the A-10's the flying gun just has not been able to be outdone.

 

[SHOCKtheMONKEY]

I wish I had a picture of me in the front seat with the side window open taken from outside on the two-story wheeled staircase maintenance rig they use.
Unfortunately, I don't.

 

[4Waters]

I wish I had a picture of me in the front seat with the side window open taken from outside on the two-story wheeled staircase maintenance rig they use.
Unfortunately, I don't.

In a B52 or a B2?

 

[SHOCKtheMONKEY]

Old school B-52.

 

[SHOCKtheMONKEY]

And please return yore cart...

 

[coolchange]

Tells you that they can't replace the B52 yet, it took a long time to replace the F14, as technology got better and computers got smaller they were able to keep upgrading that plane, when they retired it the pilot could lock onto 6 or 7 targets at once so that tells you that they can do way more than that now.

Friend of mine was a back seat guy! The tech is mind boggling.

 

[monkeyswrench]

Same with the A-10's the flying gun just has not been able to be outdone.

This summer I was talking with my wife's cousin. He's an AF pilot, Flys some sort of electronics snoop plane. He showed me pics of the wannabe replacement. It looks like a crop duster and a WWII fighter had a kid. Mostly Ag looking, but guns in the wings, and able to carry other ordinance on wings and in belly. He said the program was to start up soon, and he was hoping to get in. The concept is ground support capable of low stall speed, high loiter time and very maneuverable.

Still missing the cool factor though...
BBBBRRRRRRPPP!

 

[PlanB]

In the Gulf War we were up on the border when B-52's were doing strikes on Iraqi positions. It was insane just being that close. Flying into Iraq after the strikes, the holes in the ground were the size of swimming pools. Getting bombed from a plane you can't see with that much firepower has got to be one of the worst things I can think of.

 

[Kachina26]

I've posted this a few times but it doesn't get old

View attachment 1176900

Now those are chemtrails.

 

[JDKRXW]

It looks like a crop duster and a WWII fighter had a kid. Mostly Ag looking, but guns in the wings, and able to carry other ordinance on wings and in belly. He said the program was to start up soon, and he was hoping to get in. The concept is ground support capable of low stall speed, high loiter time and very maneuverable.

Air Tractor AT-802 - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

Air Tractor-L3Harris AT-802U Sky Warden - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

A friend of mine has 2 ag versions (that back up his 4 ground sprayers).
These things are freaking unbelievable. Empty weight 6500 lbs. Max take off weight 16,000 lbs.
Apparently they can't build enough of them between ag, military and firefighting uses. I've seen pics of these on floats.

 

[4Waters]

Air Tractor AT-802 - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

Air Tractor-L3Harris AT-802U Sky Warden - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

A friend of mine has 2 ag versions (that back up his 4 ground sprayers).
These things are freaking unbelievable. Empty weight 6500 lbs. Max take off weight 16,000 lbs.
Apparently they can't build enough of them between ag, military and firefighting uses. I've seen pics of these on floats.

They made 2 movies about one. LOL

 

[hallett21]

1.7M views · 160K likes | jetsgek on Instagram: "Credit: Bothers in Arms on YouTube"

161K likes, 824 comments - jetsgek on November 26, 2022: "Credit: Bothers in Arms on YouTube"

www.instagram.com

 

[monkeyswrench]

Air Tractor AT-802 - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

Air Tractor-L3Harris AT-802U Sky Warden - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

A friend of mine has 2 ag versions (that back up his 4 ground sprayers).
These things are freaking unbelievable. Empty weight 6500 lbs. Max take off weight 16,000 lbs.
Apparently they can't build enough of them between ag, military and firefighting uses. I've seen pics of these on floats.

Used to see them across the river, spraying crops in Mohave Valley. Never knew how massive they were until I saw one on the tarmac.

 

[wallnutz]

1.7M views · 160K likes | jetsgek on Instagram: "Credit: Bothers in Arms on YouTube"

161K likes, 824 comments - jetsgek on November 26, 2022: "Credit: Bothers in Arms on YouTube"

www.instagram.com

We would see them doing low level flights up on the Mogollon Rim above Payson when we were kids. It was pretty bad ass, you could hear just a little rumble until they were right over you and then BAM it was super loud.

 

[AZagpilot]

I’m one of the pilots you would watch in Mohave Valley. The 802 is a blast to fly! Sat in the “U” model at the factory once. It’s a 2 seat version with all the armaments. Massive displays and lots of buttons in the back seat.

 

[Gramps]

My favorite "bomber"

 

[DarkHorseRacing]

My favorite "bomber"
View attachment 1177089

Looks like a P-3 Orion converted to a water dropper.

 

[Gramps]

Looks like a P-3 Orion converted to a water dropper.

it is but the normal pink crap they dropped is Phoschex

 

[HTTP404]

I am partial to this one.

 

[QC22]

Their successor will be unveiled on December 2nd.

10 Facts About Northrop Grumman’s B-21 Raider

Northrop Grumman’s B-21 Raider will be unveiled Dec. 2 at the company’s site in Palmdale, Calif., marking the first time the world’s first sixth-generation aircraft will be seen by the public. When delivered to the Air Force...

news.northropgrumman.com

I have two sons at NG that have worked on the B-21 project. They are super pumped up about the introduction tomorrow.

 

[rush1]

The cold war never really ended we just broke up the former soviet union . Thank you President Reagan for your determination to stay the course.

 

[Orange Juice]

 

[DarkHorseRacing]

Do they use Tesla’s autopilot software?

 

[HCP3]

 

[Blackmagic94]

Same with the A-10's the flying gun just has not been able to be outdone.

Lol yeah it has. Precision guided munitions. The a-10 would be dead in 10 mins in Ukraine right now

 

[DarkHorseRacing]

So what’s the B-21? A B-2 technology refresh with a new number designator? It seems very similar to the B-2.

If anything they can probably remove most of the hazardous chemicals that made maintaining the B-2 so hard to keep running.

 

[HTTP404]

So what’s the B-21? A B-2 technology refresh with a new number designator? It seems very similar to the B-2.

If anything they can probably remove most of the hazardous chemicals that made maintaining the B-2 so hard to keep running.

It is an EV. Duh.

 

[PlanB]

Go to the 43:00 mark for the B-21 unveiling:

 

[Sleek-Jet]

So what’s the B-21? A B-2 technology refresh with a new number designator? It seems very similar to the B-2.

If anything they can probably remove most of the hazardous chemicals that made maintaining the B-2 so hard to keep running.

From what I can tell, essentially yes. But the B2 isn't going anywhere anytime soon, probably not until the late 2030's or early 2040 time frame. It'll take that long for the 100 B21 the Pentagon has ordered to be delivered.

We were supposed to have a couple hundred B2 bombers, but then the Soviet Union collapsed and all the politicians thought we weren't going to have to fight a global war ever again and canceled the program. We'll see how many Raiders we end up with.

 

[WhatExit?]

 

[sirbob]

I feel safer today…

Air Force unveils B-21 Raider, 'most advanced aircraft ever built'


https://mol.im/a/11497153

 

[DarkHorseRacing]

I feel safer today…

Air Force unveils B-21 Raider, 'most advanced aircraft ever built'


https://mol.im/a/11497153

Yeah but it was the most advanced when the spec was drawn up 15 or 20 years ago. Today it’s a 15 or 20 year old design and so is the technology in it.

I know our military is cool, but when my friend in the navy sent me a picture of a windows NT system in a modern guided missile cruiser in the mid 2000’s it wasn’t as advanced as I was hoping for.

Of course the benefits of adopting tried and true rather than latest and greatest is reliability and probably durability but it’s just an odd juxtaposition of advanced looks on the outside and old school under the hood.

 

[WhatExit?]

Yeah but it was the most advanced when the spec was drawn up 15 or 20 years ago. Today it’s a 15 or 20 year old design and so is the technology in it.

I know our military is cool, but when my friend in the navy sent me a picture of a windows NT system in a modern guided missile cruiser in the mid 2000’s it wasn’t as advanced as I was hoping for.

Of course the benefits of adopting tried and true rather than latest and greatest is reliability and probably durability but it’s just an odd juxtaposition of advanced looks on the outside and old school under the hood.

I'm no military/aerospace expert but I guarantee you it's not a "15 or 20 year old design" nor is the technology in it. This aircraft was developed in shorter time than previous but, more importantly, much of the hardware in it supports continuously updated software. Even in the military they know how to keep advancing the technology and our military tech is more advanced than anyone's well, except for China when they steal what we have (or when the Clintons let them have it).

Northrop’s B-21 is almost here. What’s next for the stealthy bomber?

Northrop Grumman has touted the B-21 Raider bomber as "the world's first sixth-generation aircraft."

www.defensenews.com

 

[Mandelon]

I played golf yesterday with a retired Air Force Pilot/ Colonel. He is 88 years old. He flew B-52s, then ran some missile program, then got into flying the F4 Phantom fighter jets in Vietnam and a few other places. He almost shot his age yesterday, he missed a couple short putts or would have done it!

 

[QC22]

So what’s the B-21? A B-2 technology refresh with a new number designator? It seems very similar to the B-2.

Totally new plane. No commonality. The B-21 is probably 2/3 the size of the B-2.