Slater Posted September 19, 2016 Share Posted September 19, 2016 Seems politically non-controversial: http://www.af.mil/News/ArticleDisplay/tabid/223/Article/948366/the-b-21-has-a-name-raider.aspx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Navy Bird Posted September 19, 2016 Share Posted September 19, 2016 Really nice that they had a surviving member of Doolittle's Raiders on hand to announce the name. At 101 years of age! Cheers, Bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mhaselden Posted September 21, 2016 Share Posted September 21, 2016 (edited) Dick Cole is not "a surviving" Raider, he's THE surviving Raider; the last surviving member of that elite band of brave men. Had the privilege of meeting him on a couple of occasions and one could not wish to meet a more charming gent. Edited September 21, 2016 by mhaselden 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob G Posted September 21, 2016 Share Posted September 21, 2016 (edited) B-21? Useless buggers are going backwards. Shouldn't it be B-3? Or maybe it's meant to be all up-to-date, and should be written B-2.1... Edited September 21, 2016 by Rob G 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slater Posted September 21, 2016 Author Share Posted September 21, 2016 "B-21" is similar to "F-35" in that both are out of sequence. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duncan B Posted September 21, 2016 Share Posted September 21, 2016 9 hours ago, Rob G said: maybe it's meant to be all up-to-date, and should be written B-2.1... B-2.1 Duncan B 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F-32 Posted September 22, 2016 Share Posted September 22, 2016 Must be all those 'black' projects using up the numbers 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Navy Bird Posted September 22, 2016 Share Posted September 22, 2016 On 9/21/2016 at 0:45 AM, Rob G said: Or maybe it's meant to be all up-to-date, and should be written B-2.1... I've read that an "unnamed" source at Northrop Grumman said that is exactly why the designation was chosen. I've always wondered if the reason why the price for the B-21 is relatively cheap is because a significant part of the B-2 airframe design will be re-used. Cheers, Bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canberraman Posted September 22, 2016 Share Posted September 22, 2016 I understood that the USAF called it B-21 was due to it being Bomber - 21st Century. Its a shame that the tried and trusted numbering conventions seem to have gone out of the window. Equally annoying is the current US Mil practice of not keeping serial numbers in consecutive order. At one time the first aircraft ordered in a Fiscal Year would have been xx-0001. Nowadays the serials just seem to follow on from the end of the previous year or else are something completely out of sequence. Mark 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XV107 Posted September 23, 2016 Share Posted September 23, 2016 You just know that had this been a naming contest for a new RAF bomber we'd have ended up debating whether the RAF should accept that the new type would be known as the BAE Stealthy McBombface B Mk. 1.... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob G Posted September 24, 2016 Share Posted September 24, 2016 4 hours ago, XV107 said: You just know that had this been a naming contest for a new RAF bomber we'd have ended up debating whether the RAF should accept that the new type would be known as the BAE Stealthy McBombface B Mk. 1.... And Their Airships would probably saddle it with Lancaster II. Because imagination... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ClaudioN Posted September 24, 2016 Share Posted September 24, 2016 On 22/9/2016 at 7:41 PM, canberraman said: I understood that the USAF called it B-21 was due to it being Bomber - 21st Century. Its a shame that the tried and trusted numbering conventions seem to have gone out of the window. Why? Just different, but very clear rules: F-22 = fighter, expected retirement 22nd Century; F-35 = ...development length and cost of eventual replacement suggest life extension upgrades . 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ClaudioN Posted September 24, 2016 Share Posted September 24, 2016 5 hours ago, Rob G said: And Their Airships would probably saddle it with Lancaster II. Because imagination... Not particularly impressed by 'Raider', either... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flankerman Posted September 24, 2016 Share Posted September 24, 2016 A bit more stealthy than the previous Northrop 'Raider'....... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northrop_YC-125_Raider Ken 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMChladek Posted September 27, 2016 Share Posted September 27, 2016 (edited) On 9/20/2016 at 11:45 PM, Rob G said: B-21? Useless buggers are going backwards. Shouldn't it be B-3? Only if you want John Travolta and Christian Slater to be the pilots and fighting over the nuclear weaponry onboard it. I love B-2.1. As for the name, sure it has a Doolittle connection. But with it being black in color I can't help thinking about a certain NFL franchise based on the west coast of the USA. Maybe they should have called it the Al Davis. Of course if Al were still alive, he would probably try to sue the USAF for trademark infringement. Edited September 27, 2016 by JMChladek Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slater Posted September 27, 2016 Author Share Posted September 27, 2016 I'm waiting for the USAF to screw this procurement up too. Seems they've forgotten how to buy airplanes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhantomBigStu Posted December 2, 2022 Share Posted December 2, 2022 Being officially unveiled in just over an hour folks 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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