B-21 Raider Refueling Images Released
Posted by Afrogthatribbits@reddit | aviation | View on Reddit | 210 comments
Source: US Air Force via https://www.af.mil/News/Photos/igphoto/2003912938
Posted by Afrogthatribbits@reddit | aviation | View on Reddit | 210 comments
Source: US Air Force via https://www.af.mil/News/Photos/igphoto/2003912938
Afrogthatribbits@reddit (OP)
Interesting to see the trailing cone attached by a tether to the B-21 behind it too for various instruments
AreThree@reddit
OH! I'm glad that's what it is - I only saw the cable and thought maybe it was pulling a banner ... new advertising gimmick for the USAF? Would need to read it quickly!
memeboiandy@reddit
"This drone strike was brought to you by Carls Jr!"
stewieatb@reddit
FASU EHT NIOJ.
ilyuwa@reddit
AreThree@reddit
excellent!
theperipherypeople@reddit
That's a UFO!
Hoenirson@reddit
Not anymore
TraditionalClub7092@reddit
Good eye! Doing air data calibration (altimetry truth source).
External_Brother1246@reddit
Yes
Terminal_Phase@reddit
State of the art bomber being refueled by a plane designed and brought into service in the 1950s.
Planes are so cool.
No-Cable-1223@reddit
Technology plateau’s at some point. This is a picture of a mature technology, and a radical technical requirement that requires a radical departure from the conventional wisdom. Flying wings are not not optimal flying systems, the reason most aircraft look relatively similar to what we made in the 50’s is because we had really optimized aircraft by that point.
I like how things develop. Someone invents something, which is really rare. Then everything looks like the invention because we’re trying to figure out what this something is. Then everyone departs radically from the original invention because we understand what it is, and we’re trying to figure out what it should be. And then eventually everything looks the same again because we optimized the invention. Exceptions to this rule just prove the rule
F1shermanIvan@reddit
The reason airliners still look like they do in the 1950s is safety and comfort.
Tubes are easy to build and evacuate. Podded engines don’t burn through wings when they light on fire.
You can’t put passengers too far off the centerline of the fuselage (like in a blended wing) or they’ll get sick.
Mr_Will@reddit
Flying wings are optimal flying systems. All wing and no extra baggage. They are incredibly aerodynamically efficient. Birds evolved in a very similar shape for good reason.
The problems with flying wings are low speed handling and the shape of the cargo/passenger space.
No-Cable-1223@reddit
Yes so that’s what makes them sub optimal flying systems. They are superior aerodynamically in a certain flight envelope, but aerodynamics is just one aspect of an aircraft design.
LupineChemist@reddit
I mean the KC-46 exists.
flightwatcher45@reddit
Ha! Things can be over designed too lol, making them worse.
Optimal-Leather341@reddit
... Didn't that try taking a bite out of an F-22 in the last 12 months?
I'm sure it might have, but has a KC-135 in it's 68 years broken a boom and "shot down" a friendly jet?
LupineChemist@reddit
I mean....A KC-135 accident colliding with a B-52 caused them to accidentally drop some nuclear bombs on my adopted country. So....Not exactly a platform without a history of incidents either.
Lots of things get worked out as they mature. The V-22 is a very reliable platform these days, as an example.
Optimal-Leather341@reddit
Sorry, splitting hairs I know, not collisions, but I meant how many refuelling booms have dethatched and clobbered the plane behind it.
Terminal_Phase@reddit
That’s probably more a product of eroding American society, and therefore quality of maintanence personnel and the standards (or lack thereof) of which they follow, than it is a product of the plane itself.
The plane itself is a product of the same issue.
LupineChemist@reddit
I mean, "it's never had this specific failure mode so therefore the whole platform is inferior tech" is terrible logic.
OK, so it had a failure. It got fixed and there will be whatever military version of AD is and won't happen again.
Optimal-Leather341@reddit
Well, I'm sure the Collisions were attributed to Pilot Error, not a piece of structure breaking off...
sofixa11@reddit
It's based on the 767, launched in 1978. Closer to the 707 than actually today.
Terminal_Phase@reddit
I was just saying both aircraft are cool and impressive in their own right.
But cool story, bro.
Optimal-Leather341@reddit
I mean, it's a testing environment in safe skies. I presume this Refuelling Probe is the same on a KC-46, so it being tested on an old plane doesn't change much?
I suppose the next thing that would be cool is it being topped up by an Aussie or NATO probe equipped MRTT.
VanillaTortilla@reddit
I mean, anything more advanced just gets sharper looking.
mmmhmmhim@reddit
nerd
Papi_Chulo_ICE@reddit
46 isn’t able to refuel it and the 10 is retired. B-21 can accept from the 46 but without the mod being c/w, Northrop won’t sign off on the OT&E portion. 135 is proven and loved.
Resource: I worked the B-21 R&D, DT&E and OT&E for 5 years at Plant 42 and Edwards + Melbourne.
WidowRaptor@reddit
The old and the new
gusterfell@reddit
Even wearing a retro livery.
Python_07@reddit
Ghost Tanker from the 370th
bozoconnors@reddit
Terrific report on TWZ recently re: that squadron / old girl if you haven't.
_BMS@reddit
The aesthetic of the military during the Atomic Age is unbeatable.
poo-cum@reddit
Yeah I think of nuclear annihilation and get erect and leaky.
aviation-ModTeam@reddit
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Lonely_Fondant@reddit
Username checks out, ew
crdpoker@reddit
She looks great for being 63 years old. Even got herself them fancy cfm-56's
Terminal_Phase@reddit
I actually didn’t even acknowledge that. Guess it just fit the 135 so well it didn’t even register.
Python_07@reddit
Retro Cool.
CarminSanDiego@reddit
And that right there is an example of what’s wrong with the pentagon budget/acquisition process
pillojon106@reddit
Don’t fix what ain’t broke
Ausgeflippt@reddit
Right, the KC-46 was a mistake.
pillojon106@reddit
Not saying it is. But if the USAF concluded that the KC135 is not worth keeping in the air, they wouldn’t still be flying them today and probably would have shifted their strategy for a replacement a lot sooner.
Ausgeflippt@reddit
We're in agreement. I'm literally saying the KC-46 was a mistake.
pillojon106@reddit
If you don’t mind me asking, are you saying it was a mistake to introduce completely or when it was introduced?
Ausgeflippt@reddit
It was a mistake to award the contract to Boeing when Airbus already had a working refueler that was proven.
Similarly, the P-8 was a mistake. At least it works, unlike the KC-46.
Boeing is kept alive by corporate welfare, at this point.
Twinsfan945@reddit
I think I disagree about the F-47. All the problems in the last while have been on commercial aircraft or similar. Their fighter division has been the complete opposite actually. The Block III Super Hornets and F-15EX have been going really well. I currently have a professor who worked there for 10+ years, so he has a bit of inside knowledge and shares the same sentiment.
Twinsfan945@reddit
The KC-46 was the inferior aircraft to the KC-45, which originally won the contract. Boeing and politics happened and now we have the worse aircraft
Terminal_Phase@reddit
Typical Washington nonsense.
If we’re not going to produce world leading designs anymore, then we have to stop holding on to national pride and disallowing American companies to cry foul when their design doesn’t get chosen.
Ornery_Year_9870@reddit
Despite the downvotes, you are correct. KC-10 entered service after KC-135, but is completely retired. Boeing's effort to turn a 767 into a tanker has been a miserable failure. If that weren't the case, the -135 would be retired already.
Now that the -135s hours are being used up to support this Iran thing, we're gonna be screwed in terms of tanking capability.
Terminal_Phase@reddit
And that doesn’t even take into account the ones that have been destroyed. Not that it’s been that many, but who knows what info we can even believe anymore, of what’s being withheld. Which is insane to think about. But even 1 destroyed is catastrophic when you have no ability to replace the airframe.
I watch a lot of Ward Carroll on YouTube. Ex F-14 WSO who does wartime analysis and commentary now.
It was quite jarring hearing him break down the rescue of the downed F-15 pilot. Specifically the loss of 2 MH-130s and an unconfirmed number of MH-6s, at which point he described our inability to replace either aircraft as both assembly lines have been shut for years.
We need to stop acting like it’s 1975. We might have the largest military by numbers in terms of equipment, but that won’t be the case long when you start wars with zero ability to replace damaged or destroyed equipment.
CarminSanDiego@reddit
lol @ all these keyboard warriors who have no idea how bad the 135s are doing maintenance wise
Zerofelero@reddit
i’d say okay boomer, but that would be a compliment
sylvyrslyt@reddit
My favorite part of Nintendo's Top Gun
VanillaTortilla@reddit
B-52 is expected to serve for at least 2 more decades soooo...
Ant0n61@reddit
Straight up ufo
So cool
goondam@reddit
This plane doesn't seem to have the stealthy thermal tiles for the exhaust like the B-2.
Starlanced@reddit
What is the area below?
Afrogthatribbits@reddit (OP)
Near Edwards AFB, specifically https://www.reddit.com/r/aviation/comments/1slrmw6/comment/oga8ktn/
Papi_Chulo_ICE@reddit
I loved working this jet. This is T-1. You can tell because of the air data probe off the nose, and it’s pulling the tail cone testing slip stream and heat signature from exhaust the exhaust.
A13xer@reddit
Compared with the B-2. Similar angle.
Peeterwetwipe@reddit
The B21 looks like a Ralph Macquarie initial concept painting for the B2 that was actually made for the film.
vewfb@reddit
Pretty much. The wing planform is the same as in early B-2 designs before the Air Force added the requirement for low altitude capability, or so I hear.
Terminal_Phase@reddit
That’s such a hilarious accurate observation
Peeterwetwipe@reddit
Thanks.
ChartreuseBison@reddit
Damn, the B-2 has a rusty port.
nightputting@reddit
The inlet differences are wild. I wonder how the solved the boundary layer air speed differences that can impact the engines on the B-21 inlet
chmod-77@reddit
It's also kind of neat how they're a little more "stealthy" from above.
For a while, I'd stopped posting comments about how many planes weren't very stealthy from above because they would just get downvoted to oblivion. However, if you compare the inlets and the cockpits, the amount of surfaces that reflect energy directly back upwards have been minimized compared to the B2.
(And if anyone wants to call me an idiot for considering this -- think about how long this plane is supposed to be in service, how some companies are thinking about building data centers in space, we already have highly functional internet constellations in LEO -- it's extremely feasible that the very enemy this plane is designed to attack will have LEO radar from above. Please consider that before calling me an idiot in my observation.)
ZeePM@reddit
I imagine close up there would be small holes drilled into the inlets like these.
https://www.twz.com/20881/the-yf-23s-air-inlet-design-was-its-most-exotic-feature-you-never-heard-of
AEIUyo@reddit
looks similar to how they did it for the f-35 to me. honestly not sure how they did that one either though. either the rounded bump in front of the engine "re-energizes" it somehow, or there could be some suction inlets in there
TiaXhosa@reddit
It has an anime face
VanillaTortilla@reddit
< \^.^ >
ScaryFro@reddit
Exactly what I went to the comments looking for
JWE25@reddit
I might need to change my desktop wallpaper finally
Traquer@reddit
Did you know the SR-71 was notoriously difficult to refuel because it was either too fast for the tanker, or too slow, as it wasn't intended to fly at subsonic speeds at medium altitudes.
The workaround the pilots figured out was to put one engine, only one, in minimum afterburner. That would give them the perfect speed that matched the tanker.
The only problem with that is as you guessed, the plane was flying with differential thrust and wanted to yaw and bank. But the pilots figured out how to do it! Crazy stuff
JWE25@reddit
Thanks for that cool info! It's kinda like if someone was to daily drive an F1 car on regular roads, these things just wanna GO
Electronic-Row-8573@reddit
Is this the best resolution of this image you have? I love it
JWE25@reddit
I got it from the SR-71 wiki, there's 2 amazing pictures, I'll share both
Pic 1
Pic 2
Valspared1@reddit
That's probably one of the sexiest jets ever.
Inviscid_Scrith@reddit
It's definitely the fastest ever.
Starlanced@reddit
That we know of.
GahhdDangitbobby@reddit
Thank you for sharing! What a great collection of pics to look through.
theperipherypeople@reddit
https://www.reddit.com/r/aviation/comments/fvwzau/sr71_blackbird_being_refueled_by_a_kc10/
Ausgeflippt@reddit
RIP KC-10. Gone before its time.
Traditional_Pie_8447@reddit
Don’t need no stinkin 3 holers
notathr0waway1@reddit
I mean you do you but imo absolutely not. That pic right there might be the hardest aviation photo I have ever seen. In fact I don't know if I'll recover within the next 24 hours and may have to see my doctor.
The OP's pics are just regular cool/interesting.
JWE25@reddit
You’re right I do like my original wallpaper more but I just wanted an excuse to switch it up for now ha
Ok-Conference5204@reddit
I feel like the picture you have (the one above) is arguably better than the B-21 ones
Porkyrogue@reddit
Nice
RishyRocketRider@reddit
The 135 wearing a retro livery for this sortie is just 😚👌
bloodysharpie@reddit
As seen from below. Buddy managed to snag this today
Ok-Tomato-5685@reddit
Biblically accurate angel.
frankphillips@reddit
Looks like a fucked up Ace Combat plane from this angle
Engelbert-n-Ernie@reddit
flamenco intensifies
JohnHazardWandering@reddit
Daddy, were do RQ-170 Sentinel drones come from?
Inspi@reddit
Needs a NSFW tag for plane porn.
RumorsOFsurF@reddit
matthewe-x@reddit
How much does one cost? Do we know this yet?
Afrogthatribbits@reddit (OP)
~$700,000,000 compared to the ~$2,000,000,000 per B-2. The program is astonishingly under budget AND ahead of schedule.
Lase189@reddit
Flying wing aircraft are so beautiful
UW_Ebay@reddit
Getting ready for 2028
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DownwiththeACE@reddit
gonna go bomb some kids
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moist_technology@reddit
Anyone know what that trailing cable behind it is? I'd guess it's an HF antenna?
ChartreuseBison@reddit
Sensors removed from the air being disturbed by the plane, so they can calibrate the internal ones. Same thing as the probe looking thing sticking out the front
Jazzlike_Climate4189@reddit
Someone said air data calibration sensor
Recoil42@reddit
Allow me to be a hater for a moment: The B-2 looks better.
BuddahSack@reddit
Yeah. Frankly I forget the B-21 exists haha, im an AF veteran and to me the B-2 is the pinnacle lol, but maybe im wrong lol
ChartreuseBison@reddit
I mean, it hasn't entered service yet and there's only like 5 official pictures of it.
mister_nixon@reddit
I don’t know why, but in my head the B-21 is the version that charges by USB-C
Wooden-Broccoli-7247@reddit
Was just thinking “why just build a newer version of the same plane?”. Then I realized that although the shape may be similar I am sure they’re completely different aircraft as far as capabilities.
Doggydog123579@reddit
And that they are. Biggest difference, B21 is a twin engine aircraft vs the b2s 4 engines. It also has 1 weapons bay with a 20,000 pound payload vs 2 for the b2.
The best way to think of the b21 is its an f35 stuffed into a b-2 style airframe. And I mean that literally, its using 2 f35 engines.
Pavores@reddit
B21 also uses a lot more advanced technology and should cost a lot less to operate while providing similar or better stealth performance vs the B2.
Inspi@reddit
It is simple. B-2 was developed before the Independence Day movie. B-21 developed after, when they realized how cool the alien aircraft looked.
brianinca@reddit
The B-2 looks more like an airplane, the B-21 more like NOT an airplane. The intakes and windscreen are just, alien.
VanillaTortilla@reddit
Man, the windscreens are just... so goofy and ugly.
thatblack147@reddit
I don’t know if it’s the colour, or the cockpit design or the fuselage shape but something about b21 reminds me way more of tacit blue than anything else Northrup has put out
KeepenItReel@reddit
Literal spaceship
TheFightingImp@reddit
Which has probably been built in KSP and flown by Jeb and Bob Kerman.
Imaginary_Ganache_29@reddit
I agree. The saw tooth trailing edge and cockpit windows are much better on the B-2
DrEarlGreyIII@reddit
agreed
george__kaplan@reddit
Non-metallic exhaust channels? Holy shit-all the renderings have been wrong. Bravo NGC.
Jazzlike_Climate4189@reddit
Care to elaborate?
Mediocre-Suit-8945@reddit
Til there's a US stealth bomber that isn't a B-2. Anyone know why they didnt just update the B-2 or is this effectively that? Any war thunder players plz leak the spec sheet to me 🙂
Ok_Force8739@reddit
Did they reuse the refueling probe from F35A?
Hot_Net_4845@reddit
The cockpit windows make it look like it's sad
Cerulean_Malstrom074@reddit
Reminds me of the Victor
danit0ba94@reddit
Damn this might be the clearest image I've yet seen of it.
dayofdefeat_@reddit
The B-21 costs a quarter of what the B-2 did to produce, adjusted for 2024 dollars.
So although the B-2 is the OG, I'd rather have 88 B-21s instead of 22 B-2s.
Breezgoat@reddit
Do we think the stealth is as good if not better? That’s my only correct but agree if it’s even on par
External_Brother1246@reddit
What would be the point if the aircraft if it were not?
Breezgoat@reddit
75% less to build even if it’s the same level still makes sense no?
External_Brother1246@reddit
While implementing manufacturing and maintenance cost reductions learned through the development of other modern aircraft certainly helps. I suspect modernization of the performance of the vehicle is at the core of the decision to develop a platform.
B2 is 1980 technology. I would assume a lot has changed in the last 45 years.
Thunderbird120@reddit
The B-21's shaping, materials, and construction are all leaps and bounds beyond the B-2, because the B-2 is fundamentally a late 1980s aircraft. All of that significantly contributes to RCS reductions. The B-21 is almost certainly quite a bit stealthier than the B-2.
Better understanding of material science lets you have better Radar Absorbent Material (RAM) performs significantly better than the old stuff while not constantly falling off and requiring massive climate controlled hangars. A perk of being able to piggy-back off development done for the F-35.
Better manufacturing lets you build construct shapes which previously would have been very difficult with greater precision. Panel gaps are not exactly great for stealth. The more manufacturing precision you have, the lower your RCS can be.
Better computer modeling lets you reduce RCS evenin both obvious and non-obvious ways. Highly detailed modeling of the full electromagnetic dynamics affecting the entire airframe are critical for achieving extremely high levels of broadband stealth and were totally impossible in the late 1980s but are doable now. In addition to designing a stealthy vehicle, that vehicle actually has to fly. You can see the differences in what's possible then and now in the engine intakes. Compared to the B-2 the B-21's engine intakes are incredibly deeply burred. They're mostly hidden even from straight on view and from even a few degrees below they're completely obscured from any observer. Making this work without starving the engines is very, very difficult and requires a lot of computational fluid dynamics. In the 1980s that shit very literally would not fly.
Breezgoat@reddit
Thank you for this really appreciate it
Pavores@reddit
From a design and geometry standpoint I'm almost certain the B21 stealth will be better. Computer simulations have come a long way and the technology is more mature. We've built stealth fighters like F22 and F35 since the B2 came about.
From a coating and materials standpoint - I'm sure the B21 is using something that's less maintenance, and quite likely of similar or better quality than the B2 uses. B21 was built a lot more for operational efficiency.
Typical_Research_877@reddit
My dad would of loved this
grain_farmer@reddit
Obviously OPSEC, so don’t reply if you actually “know” know, I mean more in a general public knowledge sense:
I wonder how these type of aircraft have a rounded leading edge in terms of radar signature, I assume it’s composite but then does that mean they cannot fly in icing conditions?
RedditAteMySon@reddit
That was a close one. Had you not given that disclaimer about not saying if you know know, I was just about to ruin my career and security clearance to answer your Reddit question.
Literally the stupidest example of pointing out the obvious
Inspi@reddit
Good news is we almost exclusively bomb the Middle East, with LATAM looking like the most likely next theater of war. No icing concerns there.
Porkyrogue@reddit
Reporting from opsec. Green light
MajorProphet90@reddit
Learning how aircraft like this and the B2 handle Icing would be super interesting to me! I suppose having a heated wing with bleed air might be an option, but seems like that wouldn't play well with a RAM coated leading edge
grain_farmer@reddit
I was thinking maybe a heated leading edge would hard its thermal visibility. It would be funny if they had an inflatable boot but given the colour seems unlikely.
Jealous_Acorn@reddit
That would be hilarious. Like just a standard one. Whole ship brought down because of a few pinholes in the leading edge during cold weather lol
TraditionalClub7092@reddit
Big enough wing won't need ice protection. B2 CONOPS most likely built around inadvertent, short encounters. Doesn't certify for Appx. C or O icing.
No_Actuator_7684@reddit
they're not completely round. they have a chine line so the leading edge is shaped more like a hawks beak. I can't speak to the icing thing but I'd imagine the LO coating has a larger impact than the wing shape
grain_farmer@reddit
Thanks, that makes sense, I tried to zoom in to see it but it looked completely rounded in this photo.
chmod-77@reddit
Kind of surprised they published this high of resolution. I can see the sun reflecting in the cockpit.
And what's it dragging?
ShawnThePhantom@reddit
I don’t think that’s the production version.
cctchristensen@reddit
It actually is in production configuration now. That's one of the goals they pushed with the B21 program to reduce the time it takes for the aircraft to begin operations and overall cost. They designed and "tested" the aircraft all virtually so this aircraft is 100% intended to go operational with very, very minimal work needed.
ShawnThePhantom@reddit
Then why does it still have that pointy stick up front? B2 bombers don't have that. Is that for mid air refuelling? if so, why does the tanker have the probe that goes into the hole at the top?
cctchristensen@reddit
That's just a nose boom to help calibrate the internal flight sensors. It can be added/removed from an aircraft in a day.
MajorProphet90@reddit
It's one of the prototypes/developmental test aircraft, but NG has said they have developed the B-21 in such a way that the prototypes will eventually be fully combat capable after testing and development
Guadalajara3@reddit
This tanker was doing LAPS on tuesday the 14th on flight radar24, not sure if thats when the pics were taken though, seems too soon
hotcornballer@reddit
It's a crewed rq180!
No_Public_7677@reddit
It just looks like the B2
wggn@reddit
what happened to the B-3 - B-20
Inner_Piano_2128@reddit
for anyone curious where these flights/images are... that's on the Isabella refueling track looking south over a portion of hwy 178 running east (left) to west (right) toward lake isabella (start of the Sidewinder low level through Kern canyon). hwy 14 is in the upper left. NAWS China Lake is not far off to the left, and Edwards AFB is further off to the south (top).
frankphillips@reddit
Seeing the B-21 being fueled by a KC-135 in the classic colour scheme is dope as hell and hilarious at the same time
Inspi@reddit
They should have called it the B-21 John Cena because I don't see anything.
MandalorianBeskar@reddit
Can someone here familiar with older planes explain the purpose for metal wire connecting the tail on older planes, like this tanker has?
Also, noticed the B-21 is also dragging some kind of line, perhaps testing equipment related, behind it.
External_Brother1246@reddit
The dragging line is likely air data calibration test equipment (velocity, side slip, air pressure, temperature, altitude, angle of attack).
The probe is away from the aircraft boundary layer. They are likely calibrating the aircraft air data system.
Magooose@reddit
I call the B-21 Casper because it looks like a ghost to me.
DesertRunnerX@reddit
Yeah it should have been called “ghost” or owl or something
deleted_by_reddit@reddit
[removed]
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Downtown-Fondant-525@reddit
What’s this thing floating in the background?
Afrogthatribbits@reddit (OP)
https://www.reddit.com/r/aviation/comments/1slrmw6/comment/og90vem
ComfortableBus7184@reddit
I love how much it looks like a diving peregrine falcon.
nanogoose@reddit
You’re not gonna believe this, but…
xlr8_87@reddit
Is IS a peregrine falcon?!
Curious-Donut5744@reddit
This isn’t going to help the “birds are government drones” conspiracy
elreydelasur@reddit
what do you mean "conspiracy" its fact
ComfortableBus7184@reddit
Haha I know I know
RustGrit@reddit
So the same as a B2 ya?
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Afrogthatribbits@reddit (OP)
article: https://www.af.mil/News/Article-Display/Article/4459893/b-21-raider-accelerates-delivery-of-long-range-strike-capability/
Didnt_know@reddit
I tried to increase brightness to see more details in the intakes, but it seems they are blurred.
RBJ_09@reddit
Absolutely absurd we can build things like nutty looking that fly
Wooden-Broccoli-7247@reddit
Fly by remote control..
dec0y@reddit
More like B-2.1
Narrow_Ad_7671@reddit
61-0320. Earned my black patch on that jet during a TDY to Edwards.
The bomber is cool too. I guess.
FlyByPC@reddit
Uh, Gascap 320, don't look now but I think you have a UFO on the boom...
zman12804@reddit
What an amazing airplane. We love the Dorito
Porkyrogue@reddit
Definitely hot and spicy on this drone
xJerkstorex@reddit
It looks so much like the b2. 8s it just basically the perfect design so they are just upgrading internals and systems?
unknownn-knownn@reddit
M
Porkyrogue@reddit
Cool we so cool I love it
b_weak@reddit
But where does the boom go?
VincentMega@reddit
Are they being tested anywhere else than around Edwards AFB?
Ausgeflippt@reddit
No, they're built in Palmdale.
Zerofelero@reddit
someone post a B-1.. it bones vs a B-2 or B-21
murder0fcrow5@reddit
Almost as fat as the KC.
YuppiesEverywhere@reddit
aww shit I was partying with the kids whose parents designed this plane last week at Coachella
AbeFromanEast@reddit
I don't see anything
Zerofelero@reddit
what is there to see?
elkab0ng@reddit
Dude, there IS a tanker there.
.. and I’m sure it’s waiting for an aircraft to refuel.
delhibellyvictim@reddit
it looks like the b2 but not as cool
t3hW4y@reddit
Would it be too complicated to add wingtip devices to the KC-135?
eliminate1337@reddit
No it would be quite simple. But it wouldn’t pay off since military jets fly far fewer hours than airliners. Fuel savings wouldn’t cover the development cost.
JWE25@reddit
Where is this picture shot over?
Voeno@reddit
Oh yeah 100% aliens taught us this shit. It looks so futuristic it’s awesome.
Blue_Etalon@reddit
Need some photos with the B21 flanked by a couple of Fat Amys
Super_Sic58@reddit
I'm chubbed up rn
AmazingSugar1@reddit
flat as a pancake
Afrogthatribbits@reddit (OP)
Full resolution can be found at
https://media.defense.gov/2026/Apr/14/2003912938/-1/-1/1/260414-F-AF000-2002.JPG (7961 x 5310)
and
https://media.defense.gov/2026/Apr/14/2003912936/-1/-1/1/260414-F-AF000-2001.JPG (8192 x 5448)
Still-Union-2528@reddit
Actually incredible, this is the first time we’ve seen a proper photo of the top. I can’t wait to catch this thing doing AR. I got photos of 001 doing high Al tests a couple weeks ago.
FxckFxntxnyl@reddit
Such a cool aircraft.