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

Last Friday, November 10th the B-21 Raider took flight for the first time from its Palmdale California facility. Let's take a look at what this means, and what we know so far.

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Credits/Attributions:
"The appearance of U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) visual information does not imply or constitute DoD endorsement."
Department of Defense
Northrop Grumman
Lockheed Martin
Boeing
Raytheon
Pratt & Whitney
General Electric

Special thanks to point_mugu_skies on Instagram:

All animations are produced by me and are property of this channel

[nuvostef]

Just a minor note: the name “Cerberus” is pronounced “SER-ber-us”. 😊 Good viddy, thank you.

[LtNduati]

It looks so much like a manta ray, or a stingray and I kind of love when engineering can mimic nature, it's almost poetic imo

[billg]

I saw the B-2 testing at Edwards…and the Space Shuttle land there once, as well. The B-21 will be the most advanced stealth aircraft until the NGAD and F/A-XX make their debut. So, I would expect it will be the most invisible plane yet in the American arsenal. Plus, I think it’s still probably easier to make a stealthy bomber than a stealthy fighter. I worked in one capacity or another for the AF for over thirty years. So, I’m pretty proud of the lot of them and what they do. I hope Northrup Grumman is able to put the pedal to the metal on development, testing and deployment of these beauties.

[senoJSR]

There is a B2 at the US Air Force Museum that you can walk up to and under. I was shocked by how small it was compared to how I had imagined

[Miguelcooldude]

The B-21 most likely has only 2 engines, one of the contributor to this idea is the fact that the plane only has two doors (that look like horns like you mentioned) to allow air to flow in, unlike the B-2 which has 4 doors to allow air into its engines.

[kmgb]

So lucky to have been driving north on Highway 14 Friday as this plane began its test flight over Palmdale/Lancaster! It was flying low and slow and really looks other worldly. It definitely looks menacing!

[mapanggulo]

The F-35 does not have secondary weapons bays, only the F-22 does. The F-35 can not currently carry AIM-9 heat seeking missiles internally, it has to carry them externally on wing mounted launchers that does effect the F-35's stealth capabilities.

[NoName-dsuq]

Cerberus is also the name of a Royal Australian Navy shore establishment largely responsible for training new recruits. I went through HMAS Cerberus in 1988. Moran division, GE-41, Bravo class, before cat school.

There was interest from some observers about us buying a small number of B-21s because our defence minister was at the unveiling, to replace our long lost F-111s, but everything has gone quiet since. AUKUS has changed everything though, and that came out of the blue, so who knows? They’d make a brilliant deterrent in the shorter term until and after the RAN SSNs come into service.

[sberry]

It's the most advanced aircraft by far. When the NGAD is released by the airforce and the navy releases their 6th gen fighter it will be interesting to see which jet is more advanced, the fighters or the bomber

[timbaskett]

With the way the exhausts are designed (at least in the computer rendering) I suspect that there maybe a cold air duct that mixes cold air with the hot exhaust to reduce the IR signature.
I could see the Raider being used as a High Value Asset escort. Even if it requires an off platform sensor/targeting system.

[BrandoDrum]

The sawtooth rear end of the B2 allowed it to fly low level with 1980s level flight control tech. I'm quite sure the B21 would put perform the B2 on low level missions because it's just got 40 years of computational advancements to leverage.

[peteorengo]

The line behind the test airplane is actually a hollow tube used to measure the static air pressure away from the airplane. Same as the extended pitot tube, they are used to calibrate the airplane’s instruments.

[CivisMilitarum]

The Raider has a high probability of modular design. With minimum configuration to house larger internal payloads up to complex mechanisms that act like a drum magazine that will index to consecutively release ordinance. Im sure for airflow they incorporated what they've learned from the R&D from the YF-23 and their peers in the business.

[SPak-rtgb]

VX-30 Bloodhounds test squadron also uses the three headed dogs. I think the Rear end of the B-21 is still secret we haven't seen it from the top yet

[andrewfranson]

The auxiliary air inlet doors appear to form F22 style vertical stabilizers, pretty cleaver.

[bdh]

Great analysis as always, your videos just get better and better!

[Opusss]

"The low level flying requirement was not part of the design for this new bomber." That is hardly what we can deduce. The low level flight needs were likely addressed in other ways with this vessel. For all we know the B-21 is just as capable in low level flight as the B-2.

[chrislong]

I saw a B-2 during an air show here in Colorado several years ago. What a
It made a low and slow pass over us from East to West as it headed towards the mountains, the pilot, who was being broadcast over the PA said that he was going to demonstrate the visual stealth ability of the plane and started going into a left bank south.
As the plane made it bank and turn its upper side was exposed and the sky seemed to become part of it and the plane just vanished before our eyes!
I was stunned! It was there and you could hear it, albeit quietly, but you could barely see it and it was only a few miles away!
Then it completed its turn and suddenly reappeared as it made its second pass over the crowd.
Then it flew off to the East!
I'd never imagined anything so beautiful!!!!

[scottnj]

Out of touch for a while. Great post to start catching up with and belated Congratulation on 101K subscribers 🤓

[KC_Smooth]

I can't wait to see what the NGAD will look like and how many similarities it will have to the B-21 albeit in a smaller package.