withThe first flight of the B-21 "Raider" ** bomber,The attitude on the Internet about this "cutting-edge" bomber for many years shows a more serious polarization.
Some of the so-called "military enthusiasts" with extreme ideas even shouted:
"Although I haven't really seen this new type of ** bomber, the American product is the best, once it is used, it can freely go in and out of China to bomb wantonly, and there is no possibility of being intercepted. ”Putting aside the crazy conclusion above that the so-called "military enthusiasts" seem to be hysterical, there is indeed a lot of interesting things to talk about about the B-21 bomber.
For example, in the case of the B-21 "Raider" stealth bomber, the Americans seem to be deliberately raising the profile to promote it"Strength".At the same time, but also on the bodyActual performance**Secretive, no information is revealed.
If you have paid attention to the U.S. report on the B-21 "Raider"** bomber, it is not difficult to find that the U.S. can be described as this type of aircraft"High hopes",In the propaganda associated with it, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin can even be seen uttering at the expense of moral kidnapping:
"This is not just an airplane, it embodies the determination of the United States to defend the country it loves. ”From these reports, it is not difficult for us to see that the United States has positioned this type of aircraft far beyond the view of ordinary aircraft, but has placed it in the "."Final Battle Weaponlocation.
But putting aside its abnormal cultural elements given by the United States, from the point of view of its performance, the performance of the B-21 "Raider" as a strategic bomber compares with that of its colleague B-2 "Phantom".Quite conservative and even mediocre.
B2 stealth bombing.
This is not to say that the B-21 "Raider" cannot do anything.
To deny the breakthrough and progress made by the United States in the field of strategic bombers is a pointless quibbleIt is an unwise act like the so-called "military enthusiasts" mentioned earlier.
It's just that when discussing the B-21 "Raider", we need to care more about thatThe ammunition it can carry- Because the delivery of those munitions is the main reason for the existence of strategic bombers.
As the saying goes, "if morality is not matched, it will be a disaster", only as a carrier of attack ammunition, the biggest problem that the B-21 "Raider" has to solve"Let the ammunition grow wings",And not "let the ammunition arrive".
In September 2020, as:The technical predecessors of the B-21 "Raider",The B-2 stealth bomber has just experimented with its first serviceable missile**, the AGM-158B JASSM-ER.
In September 2020, B-2 tested the launch of the AGM-158B Jassm-ER missile.
After claiming "complete success", further experiments with the AGM-158B JASSM-ER disappeared and even appeared for a time"The project may be canceled and give way to a new hypersonic **".message.
As the only onePossiblyOnce the AGM-158B JASSM-ER is eliminated, the B-21 Raider, which is smaller than the B-2 Phantom, will only be unlucky.
Regardless of the specific dimensions of the B-21, it is smaller than the B-2.
Even if we think about it in the most optimistic terms, its bomb bay has not been reduced in any way compared to the B-2", and we can only barely guarantee that it is in the same condition as the B-2 "" before "" - it is a single aircraftYou can only get close to the danger zone above the target and drop bombsof the aircraft.
Strategic bombers without guidance **Such a situation is very reminiscent of another with itA "weapon of strategic decisive battle" with a similar status- That is, during the Cold War, the British Aveiro "Vulcan" strategic bomber.
British Aveiro "Vulcan" strategic bomber.
As a large strategic bomber, the Aveiro "Vulcan" strategic bomber was once before its entry into the warIt has also been endowed with a large number of over-the-top aura"An important deterrent force", "a sharp weapon to guide the situation in East Asia", "a British gentleman who carried out a nuclear strike" ......
However, in the only valid record of his participation in the Malvinas Islands War (also known as the Falkland War), Aveiro "Vulcan" was exhausted
In the "Black Deer 1" operation, which was played by him, it still needed to refuel in the air six times when it was borrowed from the proximity to the US military base, and it barely dropped 22 unguided bombsFailed to achieve any effective results
Schematic diagram during Operation Black Deer 1.
Not even if it weren'tThe Argentine Air Force itself is too weak,AndThere are serious morale problems and delays in redeploymentAfter that, we are likely to see the wreckage of this "British gentleman who carried out a nuclear strike", thrown rotten eggs by angry Argentine citizens.
Admittedly, there will be a considerable number of so-called "military enthusiasts" who believe that the B-21 "Raider" is fundamentally different from the Aveiro "Vulcan" bomber - because the B-21 "Raider" is a stealth fighter that can guarantee "undetection" at all times, which is very different from the old bombers of the past.
Concept art of B-21.
However, if you think about it, you will find that this argument is simply untenable.
Leaving aside Northrop's official propaganda for the B-21 Raider's almost complete silence about the specific performance of the B-21 Raider, how some "military enthusiasts" learned that it could guarantee "no detection at any time".
There has always been an inextricable knot between the tactical air force and the strategic air force, which makes it impossible for them to be "undiscovered" or "undestroyed".The more advanced and sophisticated the aircraft, itsThe equipment and facilities required for maintenance, maintenance and other work are also more and more complex
Satellite image of a B-2 Phantom bomber breaking off the runway in 2021**.
In other words, such aircraft often require large airports and corresponding maintenance facilities, and the more advanced the aircraft, the less likely it is that its maintenance facilities will disappear.
Then, in the face of the strategic rocket force with the ability to carry out sustained strikes on bases in the first island chain, a group of ** bombers represented by the B-21 "Raider", even if they were lucky enough to take off before the strike, they had to finally return to the similar situation of "running the monk, but not the temple".
The plane may be able to run, but what if these facilities, factories and airport runways behind the plane are damaged?
For stealth bombers that have lost their maintenance and maintenance facilities, can they guarantee the so-called "coming and going without a trace" that they have advocated in the past ** propaganda? Neither the Northrop Grumman practitioners, nor the U.S. Congress dared to give any guarantees.
It is true that the B-21 "Raider" may be a new topic for our country in future air defense operations, but this does not mean that the B-21 "Raider" can do what some military enthusiasts advocate "coming and going without a trace".
The B-21 does not necessarily "come and go without a trace".
With regard to the appearance of the new US bomber, it is necessary to pay attention to tactics, but there is no need to be presumptuous.
Moreover, the method of dealing with this type of bomber has long been established, and there is no so-called "unstoppable" statement.