B-21: More Than a Bomber?

[Zaphod58]

I’ve seen a couple of people in that world speculate that it could have had some capabilities similar to what we know Compass Call does, only with much broader coverage. I’ve read that it was a low observable theater “quarterback” of sorts, just a new ISR type… But I DO distinctly recall *** **** ** started to behave himself after they were spotted. I suspect the sudden unexplained detonation of one of his choo choo trains in 04 was probably still a fresh burn. 

I still think Amarillo and the plane spotted under cover at Groom in Feb 2022 were either the same thing or related. I’ve seen a very clear photo of a Boeing design in a wind tunnel that looks identical. My money is on that being their NGAD test bed.

Related most likely but different aircraft. The sightings were a little too early for NGAD to be flying demonstrators yet.

[Avicula]

I could have worded that better. I suspect that Boeing’s entry was based on an older design (or two) that showed promise and was too good to stuff in a file cabinet somewhere. NGAD POSSIBLY being the latest iteration of that/those previous type(s). 

I don’t want to derail this any more than I already have. SW and Zaphod, your input is appreciated as always. It’s starting to feel like home again in this here forum!

[Zaphod58]

I could have worded that better. I suspect that Boeing’s entry was based on an older design (or two) that showed promise and was too good to stuff in a file cabinet somewhere. NGAD POSSIBLY being the latest iteration of that/those previous type(s). 

I don’t want to derail this any more than I already have. SW and Zaphod, your input is appreciated as always. It’s starting to feel like home again in this here forum!

Honestly, I’m putting money on the F-47 being a direct descendant of Bird of Prey.

[Signal Witch]

Honestly, I’m putting money on the F-47 being a direct descendant of Bird of Prey.

Agreed... 



People forget what Bird of Prey really was. It wasn’t a fighter, it wasn’t built to deploy, it was Boeing’s flex to the Pentagon: look, we can do low observables too, and by the way, doesn’t it look slick? Lockheed had the F-117. Northrop had the B-2. Boeing was stuck turning out Eagles and Hornets, watching from the sidelines after their JSF entry, the X-32 Pelican, waddled off and lost to the X-35.



 
So they built a different kind of bird. The Pelican grew up into a Bird of Prey. Not graceful, not powerful, but clever. It proved you could bend metal and composites into organic curves, bury inlets, manage seams, and keep signatures down without breaking the bank. It was part technology mule, part calling card: “don’t forget about us.”


 
Fast forward to now. NGAD is no longer a paper study as the Air Force has formally tagged it as the F-47. Look at the renderings, patents, and analyst mockups that have circulated, and the lineage is hard to miss. The Bird of Prey’s design language is right there in the DNA: chine flow that reads almost organic, wings and fuselage fused into one continuous surface, intakes tucked in so deep they all but vanish.

 
I guess what I’m saying is I agree with you on the lineage of the F-47. The Bird was the proof. The F-47 is the weapon. Safe to say Boeing went from pelicans to warbirds.

[Avicula]

I have a photo of me and my 2 1/2 year old daughter walking hand in hand into the USAF museum in Dayton back in 2018 with the F-22 in front of us and the Bird of Prey suspended from the ceiling above. 

That was the day that I really began to appreciate how much older designs influence newer ones, and if one looks closely, you really can see the same ideas evolving from one airplane to the next. In this case, for me, it happened in hangar IV. Tacit Blue sitting 10’ in front of me, the B-2 to my right and the YF-23 directly behind where I was standing. You can absolutely see how what they hit on with BSAX, possibly the ugliest thing to ever take to the skies, evolved into the B-2 and subsequently into one of the most undeniably beautiful airplanes ever conceived with the -23. 

Assuming the renders of the F-47 we’ve seen are accurate (and I don’t see any reason why they wouldn’t be), the YF-118G/BOP DNA is 100% on display. I’d bet a brand new shiny penny that you’re right, Zaphod.

[Avicula]

So everyone knows that the first B-21 to fly had the silhouette of Cerberus, the mythological 3-headed dog that prevented the dead from escaping the underworld, on its nose gear door.

I wonder if that’s a tongue-in-cheek nod to it having three roles? Bomber, ISR, and command node…(or whatever it was engineered to do)?

[Signal Witch]

I wonder if that’s a tongue-in-cheek nod to it having three roles? Bomber, ISR, and command node…(or whatever it was engineered to do)?

No idea, however, the second B-21 shows a Spartan helmet in the same place.  So they are most likely just individual test aircraft identifiers, similar to other prototypes.

[Avicula]

No idea, however, the second B-21 shows a Spartan helmet in the same place.  So they are most likely just individual test aircraft identifiers, similar to other prototypes.

I’m only guessing here, obviously… but there being a clear nod toward Greek mythology, I’ll bet that’s not just any helmet.

That is the Helm of Hades.

Whoever wears the Helm of Hades is invisible to all, including other gods. Goes well Cerberus who guards the gates to the underworld, where Hades rules. 

This is as much fun as trying to decipher TS program patches! Where’s Trevor Paglin when you need him?