Interesting to see, where technologies reach. First practically stealth planes was ugly and considered only for special operations, and each new generation is for wider use.
this is sort of the deep strike platform which could deliver devastating ordnance to the targeted country's energy and food production infrastructure, degrading it's war making capability. Good weapon to have
Drones and missiles will be used for many missions, but we are nowhere close to being able to build autonomous systems that can reliably handle changing situations. The B-21 will also be optionally manned, so it can eventually be used as a large drone to strike fixed targets by delivering specialized ordnance like the GBU-57.
The B-2 hasn't been very useful. This one will be even less useful for an astronomical cost.
They of course know it so they decided that they might as well make a show of the launch, IMHO. I'll make for nice flyovers at baseball/football games.
The B-2 and B-21 are deterrents and insurance policies. The whole point is not to be directly useful.
They are the only survivable platforms that can deliver a large bunker buster munition in hostile airspace. That is now a "must have" capability, regardless of cost.
yes, I agree to an extent. This thing will also be able to deliver nuclear ordnance, something drones currently are not able to do, and for missiles-in-silo have a different kind of deterrence effect
well the builders of this weapon have no problem with causing civilian suffering. The threat of bombing others is the very purpose of aircraft carriers, of which the US has an inordinate number. These are not defensive weapons, but weapons of coercion
i tend to think almost everyone involved in the US defense industry & the military wishes their job was unnecessary & that they could stop making weapons.
these folks absolutely do care about not causing civilian suffering.
What nobody has sufficiently explained so far: why is it white? The explanation, that it is used for daylight operations seems insufficient. Basically all civilian planes are white and can be seen from ground.
Question is not, could see or not. Question is how far will be seen military plane, BEFORE it will fire weapons.
Why? - This is simple, because military need to detect enemy plane significantly earlier, than it will reach fire distance.
For different weapons fire distance differ, but I could write approx magnitudes:
Canon : effective on 300-1000m, could reach about 3000-4000;
Free fall bombs : hundreds meters from point of drop;
glide bomb: kilometers from point of drop (The AGM-154 JSOW has a range of 12 nmi (22 km) for a low altitude launch, or 70 nmi (130 km) for a high altitude launch.);
guided rocket: most known (and used) have ranges, few tens kilometers, but exists relatively small with range 120km, and big with ranges 1000km or more.
And from f-117, main weapon of stealth are rockets, or glide bombs, and detection range for them in best for target case, about few kilometers. So in most cases, if you are target, you will receive present, even don't knowing, who have sent it.
