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Strategic bombers are powerful and exclusive weapon that not every air force can get.
Nowadays, only Russia and the United States have this type of combat aircraft in their arsenal.
For all intents and purposes, it is a race – who will get the new-and-improved strategic bomber first.
For the United States this is the B-21 Raider, under development by Northrop Grumman on top of the B-2 bomber. The B-21 should be a “flying wing”-type aircraft with a wingspan of about 42 m. The main goal for the developers is to minimize the visibility of the aircraft in the radar and thermal ranges.
According to the preliminary reports, the B-21 should cost much less than its predecessor, only $ 550 million. However, the U.S. promising weapons are known to easily rise in prize during their development.
Much less is known about the promising strategic bomber being developed in Russia.
Only project name is known: PAK DA, and it is an aircraft also made according to the “flying wing” scheme, taking into account the technologies of reducing its signature during flight.
At the moment, the appearance of the aircraft has already been approved and tested for radar signature.
PAK DA will be portable of modern cruise missiles with nuclear and conventional warheads, including high-precision hypersonic long-range missiles.
It is hard to compare the two warplanes, currently, as they are both veiled in secrecy.
It is likely that in terms of stealth, the B-21 will significantly surpass the PAK DA, since the Americans have a lot of experience in this area.
Another potential advantage of the B-21 is their ability to detect air and ground targets, as the United States has been developing radars with AFAR for much longer.
Additionally, the B-21 power plant, based on the latest technical solutions of the F135 or PW9000 engines, will also be better – the PAK DA power plant is made on the basis of the NK-32 engine developed in the late 1970s.
A potential advantage of the Russian vehicle may be the presence of decimeter L-band antennas, which provide detection of low-signature aircraft, which partly compensates for the greater radar signature of the PAK DA compared to the B-21.
A serious drawback of Russian combat aircraft is the lack of small-sized interceptor missiles capable of hitting enemy air-to-air missiles with a direct hit.
Both B-21 and PAK DA should also include the unmanned flight mode and will be able to carry long-range subsonic cruise missiles with nuclear and conventional warheads, as well as promising hypersonic weapons.
Meanwhile, Moscow could have the upper hand in terms of hypersonic weapons.
Thus, the U.S. B-21 has better stealth, and more efficient engines, and the best AFAR radars. This comes in addition to compact anti-missiles, and laser self-defense weapons.
In conclusion, it should be considered that the advantage of a particular platform can only be proved by its long-term operation, since technologically sophisticated models risk reducing overall efficiency as they are less convenient to operate.
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The article in it’s own amateurish fashion neglects to include surface to air missile technology and long range radar technology. Both of which the Russians have superiority.
It is already known that current Russian radar can detect all US stealth aircraft from great distances.
Lol, like he imagines a dog fight…
None of you have a brain
“It is likely that in terms of stealth, the B-21 will significantly surpass the PAK-DA, since the Americans have a lot of experience in this area.” The US also has a national debt of more than $28 TRILLION which is more than it’s annual Gross Domestic Product. It is also a violent, crime-infested, mentally sick, physically sick, drug-addicted, alcohol-addicted, suicidal society that doesn’t even have a national health insurance system despite being the most expensive health system in the world. All of that is not important as long as the US is #1 in stealth technology.
russians can detect anything stealth, this new bomber shouldnt be a problem inshallah
Satire no? Lol
Just wondering about the claim the author makes about the B21 having compact anti-missiles and laser defence weapons. Have the US ever demonstrated a successful test of these weapons on a standard model?
Does the Ford class aircraft carriers have EMALS launching systems fitted, or has the Freedom and Liberty class warships ever received the RailGun they claimed they would fit?
Has Star Wars missile defence ever been built since Demented Ronnie Reagan started to build it back in the 80’s?
When has Prompt Global Strike ever operated?
In other words, does the author of this piece believe pigs can fly?
This article is entirely speculative as actual real world conditions are much different. Even if this B-21 does eventually enter service, the targets will be the usual: poor, defenseless countries and places that don’t have modern counter-weapons and cannot fight back but are rich in natural resources. Would the US attack a country if its main resource was coconut oil or mangos? (Hey, you never know with the maniac Kosher chicken hawks that infest Washington, DC).
The B-21 isn’t really that of an accomplishment it should be more appropriate called B-2.1 and that’s what it is in reality . The biggest flaw of the B-2 was/is that is was designed for ‘Bombs’ because it was such a long time in development + construction that it was simply tactical obsolete when it finally got into service despite all that money wasted in it, the Tu-160 in comparisson was designed from the start as carrier + launch platform for mid + long range cruise missiles and bombs as well. The B-2.1 try to correct that fault.
Those crazy Yanks have fought wars for bananas ffs, lol.
Any article on developing stealth strategic bombers that doesn’t mention the Chinese Xian H 20, which is far ahead in development than the B 21 or the PAK DA, is not worth bothering with.
10/10 username, lol
Is the PAK DA a strategic bomber or a fighter?
PAK DA is a CAD/CAM file. In other words preliminary prototype testing is TBA.
Strategic bomber with stand off capebilites same as the Tu-160.
The fighter is the SU 57, formerly known as the PAK FA during development.
PAK 50 not PAK FA
A faster way for the Jews’ US Tyranny to bomb the wedding parties and schools of the people’s they subjugate on behalf of their Jew masters’.
The B-21 is nothing but a cost effective scaled down version of the B-2.
Its sub-sonic, with sub sonic weaponery and obsolete stealth.
Even the Tu-160 is better let alone the Pak-Da.
Utter BS article. Who wrote it, a 5th grader???
“A serious drawback of Russian combat aircraft is the lack of small-sized interceptor missiles capable of hitting enemy air-to-air missiles with a direct hit.”
No air force has such weapons. The author must be on some wicked ganja.
“Thus, the U.S. B-21 has better stealth, and more efficient engines, and the best AFAR radars. This comes in addition to compact anti-missiles, and laser self-defense weapons.”
AFAR radar? He means AESA I assume? /faceplam
Laser self-defense? LOL!!!! Yeah sure buddy…..
In the next article the author will espouse the USAF great superiority in anti-gravity technology, inter-dimensional phase shifting and interstellar jump engines.
hahahaaha i know right, he was talking shit outta his ass
Hardcore star trek/star wars fans live in a parallel universe, overgrown children.
Claiming U.S. stealth is superior is a bit far fetched…
Russia always detects U.S. stealth jets, while the U.S. often struggling to detect the Su-35.
Russia is using plasma stealth and active radar cancellation for more than a decade with success.
The Tu-160, managed to penetrate NORAD radar grid over northern Canada multiple times without detection.
And the Pak-Da is a quantum leap over the Tu-160.
Claiming the engines on the B-21 will be more efficient is also a bit optimistic, since its not the case with the B-2 and Tu-160.
The Tu-160 has supercruise, and a top speed of something over Mach 2 with a range of 12300km.
The B-2 is smaller, lighter, sub sonic only but its range is “only” 11000km.
So much to that…
I agree with many in the comments section. The author should have done more research before publishing this article. The fact that China’s H-20 stealth bomber wasn’t mentioned gives one too narrow of a view of the strategic stealth bomber race. Instead of writing a comparison of whose appendage is longer, it’d probably be better if one wrote about why the respective nations chose to undertake such a project, along with their primary objectives.
“Much less is known about the promising strategic bomber being developed in Russia.”
Even less for China. However they’ve been leaking bits and pieces of their program. The trick is to know which source to trust.
“It is hard to compare the two warplanes, currently, as they are both veiled in secrecy.”
Which is why making comparisons is rather pointless.
russia is such a hypocrite it wants stratobombers but it does disagree with all kind of orbital weapons when in fact the line between these two is minimal so how typical of russia to boast all the time about things which show only utter hypocricy
Comparing stand off bombers with orbital weapons platforms is like comparing a WWI bi-plane with a modern fighter jet.
Orbital weapons can hit the ground 10 mins. after a launch command. A weapon free falling from orbit hits the ground at mach 10. There’s currently no defence against them. A bomber pilot can’t even take a leak and suit up by the time it’s all over and done from orbit.
Judging from recent projects, the US B-21 will become too expensive and will not work as advertised.
Russia will keep close tabs on ensuring the money allocated agrees with the actual progress made, and given the impressive results of the Su-57 and recent projects, the PAK-DA bomber will yield tangible results.
Agreed. Russian companies of strategic importance fall under state run control. This is why the PAK DA will be a definite success.
The american garbage will be produced with parasitic wall street investment funds and capitol hill lobbyists in mind. In other words, overpriced garbage.
the strategic bomber is going to go the way of the Aircraft carrier like the battleships before them
Even piloted fighter planes are fast becoming redundant, unmanned synchronized AI drones will be the future air force…
Russians are in the habit of getting for mach less money much more. And old habits die hard.
Lol sounds like an advertisement from the Pentagon, all these things but yet as they say they don’t really know anything about them so they are only guessing. Lets see now my guess is it will end up like the F-22 and F-35 just a way to bleed the other stupid countries into buying it or three or four..