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Northrop B-2 Spirit
Northrop B-2 Spirit
Role:
Low-observable strategic penetration bomber.
DESIGN FEATURES:
Blended flying wing, with straight leading-edges, swept
at 33o; centre and tip sections have sharp, strongly
under-cambered fixed leading-edges; two dielectric
panels underwing outboard of flight deck cover dual
radar antennae; `double-W' trailing-edge incorporating
elevons and drag rudders outboard of engines; two side
by side weapons bays in lower centrebody each have
small, drop-down spoiler panels ahead of doors,
generating vortexes to ensure clean weapon release;
engines fed by S-shaped air ducts; irregular-shaped air
intakes feed engines, with three-pointed splitter
plates ahead of inlets which remove boundary layer and
provide secondary air flow for cooling and IR emissions
control; upper lip of intake has single point; two
auxiliary air inlet doors mounted on top of intake
trunks remain open on ground and in slow-speed flight;
two V-shaped overwing exhausts set well forward of
trailing-edge; titanium on wing surface behind engine
outlet; wingtips and leading-edges have dielectric
covering of aerofoil section to mask radar-dissipating
sawtooth construction.
Total 80,000 hours of testing aircraft's components
include 24,000 hours wind tunnel tests, 44,000 hours
avionics testing and 6,000 hours full-scale `plastic
bird' control system tests; flight testing to total
4,000 hours with six aircraft; all locations in
airframe stored in CAD/CAM three-dimensional database
used for machine tool, robot and tooling reference;
prototype built on production tooling to accuracy of
+-6.3 mm ({1/4} in) from tip to tip; nearly 900 new
materials and processes developed; currently over 4,000
subcontractors throughout USA.
LANDING GEAR:
Tricycle type, adapted from Boeing 757/767.
Inward-retracting four-wheel main bogies have large
trapezoidal door of thick cross-section.
Rearward-retracting two-wheel nose unit has small door
with sawtooth edges and large rear door, also used for
crew access. Two landing lights on nosewheel leg.
Landing gear limiting speed 224 knots (415 km/h; 258
mph).
POWER PLANT:
Four 77.0 kN (17,300 lb st) General Electric
F118-GE-100 non-afterburning turbofans mounted in pairs
within wing structure, each side of weapons bay.
In-flight refuelling receptacle in centrebody spine.
Initially fuelled by JP-4; conversion to JP-8 due by
March 1996. Development of contrail management system
due by December 1996, reportedly involving regulation
of exhaust temperatures, rather than mixing
chloro-fluoro-sulfonic acid with exhaust gases, as
previously understood.
ACCOMMODATION:
Two crew, with upward-firing ejection seats: pilot to
port, mission commander/instructor pilot to starboard.
Provision for third member. Both forward positions have
conventional control columns. Flight, engine, sensor
and systems information presented on nine-tube EFIS
display. Either crew member capable of flying complete
mission, although data entry panels biased towards
weapon systems officer on starboard seat. Four flight
deck windows.
SYSTEMS:
Hydraulic system for flying controls operates at 276
bars (4,000 lb/sq in). AlliedSignal APU outboard of
port engine bay, covered by triangular door flush with
wing surface.
AVIONICS:
Comms: Rockwell Collins VLF/LF receiver; ICS-150X
intercom; Milstar satellite communications from Block
30.
Radar: Hughes AN/APQ-181
low-probability-of-intercept (LPI) J-band covert strike
radar, having 21 modes including terrain-following and
terrain-avoidance.
Flight: Rockwell Collins TCN-250 Tacan and VIR-130A
ILS.
Instrumentation: Hughes GPS-Aided Targeting System
(GATS) from Block 20, involving synthetic aperture mode
on radar to establish GPS positional error of target
for accurate high-level bombing; 4x zoom magnification
available on radar picture.
Mission: Unspecified, but crew workload eased by
three-position selector switch in cockpit to
activate/deactivate appropriate equipment for
`take-off' (transfer mission data tape, checklist and
appropriate flight controls mode), `go to war' (flight
controls in stealthy mode, weapons ready and radio
emitters switched off) and `land' (reactivate systems
and perform checklist).
Self-defence: Loral Federal Systems AN/APR-50 RWR;
Northrop Grumman ZSR-63 defensive aids equipment (role
unspecified but reportedly involves active cancellation
of radar returns).
ARMAMENT:
Boeing rotary launcher assembly (RLA) in each of two
side by side weapons bays in lower centrebody;
detachable for loading at weapons dump with up to eight
large stores each. Total capacity of 16 AGM-129 ACMs.
Alternative weapons include 16 B61 tactical/strategic
or 16 B83 strategic free-fall nuclear bombs; 80 Mk 82
500 lb bombs; 16 Joint Direct Attack Munitions; 16 Mk
84 2,000 lb bombs; 36 M117 750 lb fire bombs; 36
CBU-87/89/97/98 cluster bombs; and 80 Mk 36 560 lb or
Mk 62 sea mines. Stores of 1,000 lb and below held in
four (two per weapons bay) bomb rack assemblies (BRA).
Aircraft Measures:
Length: 69 ft.
Height: 17 ft.
Wingspan: 172 ft.
Loaded Weight: 376,000 lbs.
Aircraft Performance:
Maximum Speed: Classified (Subsonic)
Service Ceiling:50,000 ft.
Range:4,250 to 7,500 miles
Thrust:N/A