deicer

https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/b-21-raiders-first-flight-what-we-learned B-21 Raider’s First Flight: What We Learned Our analysis of seeing the first B-21 Raider, nicknamed Cerberus, in the sky and from many new angles for the very first time. BYTYLER ROGOWAY|PUBLISHED NOV 10, 2023 6:43 PM EST THE WAR ZONE Contributor SHARE TYLER ROGOWAYView Tyler Rogoway's Articles Aviation_Intel The B-21's first flight — a massive milestone for Northrop Grumman and the USAF — provides us with totally new looks at the world's most advanced flying machine. Here are some key takeaways from what is really the Raider's first full unveiling. Check out our morning coverage of the B-21's first flight here. You can read our past analysis on the B-21 and its mission set, which mirrors what we are seeing today with our own eyes, here and here. First off, the name. Yes, It's the B-21 Raider, but the first example of the type has a special nickname that is adorned on its gear door: Cerberus. Cerberus is the hound of Hades that guards the gates of the underworld to prevent the dead from escaping. So, in Greek Mythology terms, the first of the B-21s has a very dark and ominous name. It is fitting for what is arguably among the most destructive flying machines ever created. Many are asking about the long wire and aerial the B-21 was towing behind it on takeoff. Its presence should not come as a surprise as it is a normal fixture for initial flight testing. It is an air data 'trailing cone' used to capture 'clean' static air measurements that are undisturbed by the aircraft. This sensor is in addition to the jet's long flight test air data probe installed on its lower front left side. These are critical instruments for gathering precise data for the B-21's initial flight testing activities, in addition to the myriad standard sensors that are installed conformally around the aircraft and specialized test equipment situated inside. Contributor Moving on to the big takeaways regarding the jet's structure and features. Chief among them is the B-21's planform. It is exactly what we thought it would be and it's also what a higher-flying earlier iteration of the B-2 was supposed to be. You can read all about the B-21 design's direct link to the Advanced Technology Bomber program's Senior Ice design, which became the B-2 Spirit, in our feature from six years ago bringing it to light. While pictures of the B-21 taxiing, including its empennage, have been circulating for weeks, we can now say conclusively that the B-21's strange 'horns' on either side of the center fuselage barrel (or hump in this case) are indeed auxiliary air intake doors. There was speculation that they were posts for additional air data sensors, or even radar reflectors, but that is not the case. Andrew Kanei Top Storiesby The War ZoneREAD MOREBunker Talk: Veterans DayWeekend Edition Mike Henry The B-21's conformal inlets are among the program's most exotic (known) features that are documented publicly to have been a major challenge to realize during development. Low observable inlets are among a stealthy aircraft's most critical attributes. Separating turbulent boundary layer air and just getting enough air at all through serpentine ducts used to hide the highly reflective engine fan faces to not starve the aircraft's engines are major hurdles. In addition, what may not be a problem while cruising can become a huge issue at high power settings and increased angles of attack seen during terminal operations. The B-2's far more prominent serrated intakes can be seen here, including the splitter plate between the fuselage and the intake opening that separates turbulent boundary layer air from the stable air entering the intake. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Christopher Bush/Released) The B-2 has much more predominant intakes with serrated splitters along their lower edges compared to the B-21. Still, they feed serpentine ducts with the engines buried deep in the B-2's inner wings. Getting enough air during takeoff and landing is accomplished via 'butterfly' or scoop-like auxiliary inlet doors that open atop the mid portion of the blended intakes/nacelles. A B-2 taxiing out with its auxiliary air inlets popped open. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Kenny Holston) Another shot of the B-2's scoop-like auxiliary air inlets in use. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Josshua Strang) The B-21 accomplishes this same thing via relatively large plank-like triangular doors that open vertically back from the intake openings, similar to where the B-2's doors are. This provides additional direct air to the Raider's still unknown (in quantity and model) engines. This gives the jet a unique 'horned' or devilish appearance when on the ground taxiing, as well as while taking off and landing. The B-21's profile is also more striking than we pictured, with its angled side windows giving it a sinister 'angry' look. Its smaller stature than its bigger progenitor, the B-2, is also apparent from this angle. Its massive shelf-like 'duckbill' leading edge/nose is very visible, a major low-observable attribute that limits line-of-sight to the B-2's upper fuselage from lower viewing angles, among other advantages. Considering it will likely be flying higher than most other aircraft, and ground defenses are perhaps its most important threat to evade, it is a key attribute. It's also one that has a long history with low-observable aircraft design dating far back, with it being especially prominent on Northrop's Tacit Blue demonstrator, the grandfather of the B-21 Raider. Tacit Blue under flight test near Area 51 back in the early 1980s. (USAF) We also see the black areas between the B-21's blended engine nacelles and the center fuselage hump towards the rear portion of the jet. It remains unclear exactly why this area is that tone, although it could have something to do with the engines being mounted near there. Overall, the B-21's profile is remarkably sleek and its inlet and engine 'humps' are far less prominent than the B-2's when viewed from the side. The B-21's belly is perhaps the most intriguing part of the aircraft we saw in today's first flight. We now clearly see its primary weapons bay (more on the primary part in a moment). It is much smaller than that of the B-2, but we knew that would be the case, with the aircraft likely having less than half the B-2's weapons payload capacity. Instead of being able to carry two Massive Ordnance Penetrators (MOPs), one will likely be contained in a B-21. It is possible that the bay is even too small for the MOP, with a new, smaller deep-penetrating weapon taking its place, but that seems less likely at this time. Andrew Kanei The bay will likely be 'smarter' and more easily reconfigurable for different weapons arrangements than its predecessor too, leveraging the aircraft's open architecture systems for easier integration of new weapons, decoys, and air-launched drones. (Contributor) One major question that remains is does the B-21 have smaller secondary weapons bays, as well? This is something I have posited could (or at least should) exist to take advantage of the jet's expanded roles and new weapons available to it. These include advanced air-to-air missiles for self-defense and the Stand-In Attack Weapon (SiAW) for fighting its way into highly protected locales and defending itself in general. Using up space on a large primary rotary launcher for these weapons seems somewhat problematic, so having smaller and shallower auxiliary bays to accommodate them would be beneficial. It looks like this may be the case, with definite hatches of some sort next to the primary weapons bay, but it is unclear if these are there for maintenance access, including engine access, or if they are for weapons storage. The B-2 has similar panels, as well, so it is hard to tell, but the inner panels next to the primary bay are intriguing. Adding to the possibility of additional weapons bays flanking the primary one is the fact that the B-21's gear, while using a single truck instead of two like on the B-2, seems to stow similarly, hinging forward under a single large door that closes inward. Finally, we have the rear. A stealthy aircraft's exhausts are very critical to the type's low observable capabilities, both on the radiofrequency (RF) and infrared (IR) spectrums. In this case, they look quite similar to the B-2's exhausts, although they look even more conformal, with the engines very deeply buried, and smaller than their predecessors. They also do not have a chevron trailing edge to their planar heat diffusers. Once again, this raises the question of if the B-21 is a twin or quad-engined aircraft. We just don't know, but if it does leverage four engines, they would need to be relatively small in size based on what we are seeing. The B-2 can fly with two engines out on the same side, just as a side note, so the B-21 should be able to with an engine out, as well, if it is indeed a twin-engine aircraft. The B-21 appears to have a prominent shelf-like extension from its fuselage 'hump' at its trailing edge apex and lacks the variable geometry 'beaver tail' of its predecessor. This makes sense considering its similarity to the B-2's original design, which lacked the low-altitude penetrating requirements that ended up giving birth to the aircraft's serrated trailing edge and 'gust-alleviating' beaver tail. Mike Henry Mike Henry Then there is the color, which has not changed. It remains a light gray, which would indicate that the aircraft is intended for day and night operations. This could always change, but it makes sense and is something we thought could be the case prior to the roll-out. Size-wise we estimated the B-21 to be between 135-155 feet wide, compared to the B-2's 172 feet. It will likely be shorter as well and the B-2 is already a transformer when it comes to viewing it head-on compared to side-on, which turns the aircraft into something akin to the size of an F-15. The video below of the B-21 followed by its chase F-16 shows just how small it looks side on: Finally, we have all the apertures around the aircraft. Not a lot is new there from our last look and analysis of the jet. What's missing are the big dual radar arrays seen on the B-2. It's very possible the B-21 will not rely on such large arrays, with advances in AESA technologies and the possible need to use semi-mature off-the-shelf systems resulting in smaller arrays. On the other hand, conformal load-bearing antenna structures (CLASs) could conceal large arrays that are built right into the B-21's structure. Smaller common AESAs placed around the aircraft for near 360-degree sensing, communications, and electronic warfare are also quite probable. You can read all about these possibilities and about advances in radar technologies in this previous report of ours. Northrop Grumman's Electronically-Scanned Multifunction Reconfigurable Integrated Sensor (EMRIS) is a great example of a scalable, wideband, multi-mode array that can provide major advantages in many different types of installations that add up to far more than the sum of its functions. These placed around the B-21 could provide sensing, some networking communications, and electronic warfare capabilities. (Northrop Grumman) It's also worth noting that the B-21 was built around a family of systems, with some capabilities being handled by other aircraft and sent through secure networks to the B-21. This could very well (and probably does) include a stealthy radar-toting asset like the so-called RQ-180. In other words, it may have offset even some features found on the B-2 to other platforms. And of course, this is a prototype — a very production representative one though. Certain systems and avionics could (and likely will) be added later and/or featured in follow on aircraft now under construction. The B-21 was also dreamed-up with spiral development in mind, so new capabilities will be inserted as they emerge or as they are needed with far greater ease than on the B-2. And, as we always stress, the outside only tells part of the story, what's inside is where the real magic happens. So there you have it, our initial analysis of what we have seen on a historic day in aviation, as well as a huge accomplishment for the USAF and the hard-working folks and Northrop Grumman's B-21 Raider program. Now the aircraft is in the hands of its testers at a sprawling facility at Edwards Air Force Base that was specifically upgraded to support the program. As such, we should slowly learn more official details about the Air Force's pride and joy in the not-too-distant future.

Version I heard: Air Florida, drinks are free, we stop for ice.

If you like 'em big...

Thanks for the info! Probably a lot better than most of the youtube and tiktok videos out there

It appears the earth might be entering a phase of heightened volcanic and seismic activity. https://www.nbcnews.com/science/science-news/supervolcanoes-earthquakes-flegrei-long-valley-caldera-rcna121781 Two supervolcanoes, a world apart, have the attention of scientists Minor earthquakes around the Campi Flegrei volcano in southern Italy are stoking some fears of an eruption. Disturbances at the Long Valley Caldera in eastern California are also being studied, though scientists say there's no cause for alarm. Two long-dormant “supervolcanoes” on two separate continents appear to be stirring to life. Well, maybe. In recent months, more than a thousand minor earthquakes have rattled the area around the Campi Flegrei volcano in southern Italy, stoking fears that it may soon erupt again after nearly five centuries. Some 6,000 miles away, scientists have for decades recorded similarly small earthquakes and instances of ground deformation at the Long Valley Caldera, a volcano in eastern California that sits adjacent to Mammoth Mountain. But does all this seismic unrest really portend a volcanic eruption? It sort of depends on whom you ask. Most experts say there is no immediate threat of an eruption at either Long Valley or Campi Flegrei. Both volcanoes are calderas — sprawling depressions created long ago by violent “super-eruptions” that essentially collapsed in on themselves — which are often more challenging to forecast compared to the large mountain-shaped features that people typically imagine when they think of volcanoes. Seismic unrest can be a sign that a volcano is waking up, but the full story is much more complex. Both Campi Flegrei and the Long Valley Caldera are known as supervolcanoes, a term used to describe a volcano that at one time has erupted more than 240 cubic miles of material. Michael Poland, a geophysicist at the U.S. Geological Survey and the scientist-in-charge of the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory, said that while Campi Flegrei and Long Valley are capable of huge explosions, the supervolcano moniker can be misleading. “The first thing people think is that there’s going to be a civilization-ending eruption,” Poland said. “You can have an impactful explosion at these places, but the vast majority are smaller eruptions with less explosive lava flows.” That hasn’t quieted concern in the communities that border the caldera systems. The Italian city of Naples and its surrounding towns are all in close proximity to Campi Flegrei, and local government officials have been planning how to evacuate tens of thousands of people from the area, if needed. The last time Campi Flegrei erupted was in 1538, and one of the system’s biggest explosions occurred around 39,000 years ago. In September, the former head of the Vesuvius observatory at Italy’s National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology told Reuters that the earthquake swarms were causing ground uplift in the area, which could lead to structural damage in the port town of Pozzuoli, located roughly 20 miles outside of Naples. Christopher Kilburn, a professor of volcanology and geophysical hazards at University College London, said the last period of seismic unrest at Campi Flegrei was in the 1980s. Kilburn said the ground in the town of Pozzuoli was lifted nearly 2 meters, or almost 6.5 feet, over two years. Still, there was no big eruption. Fast-forward to today, and Kilburn said there are some key differences with the seismic unrest that has been observed. “The difference is that today, the uplift has been a bit more than 1 meter, but over 20 years, not two,” he said. “And so this whole uplift has lasted 10 times longer and it has been about 10 times slower.” Still, Kilburn thinks the current activity at Campi Flegrei indicates that the structure of the volcano’s crust is changing. In a study published in June in the journal Communications Earth & Environment, Kilburn and his colleagues used a model to analyze the volcano’s behavior and found that the crust of Campi Flegrei is becoming weaker, making it more prone to rupturing. But even if the crust reaches its breaking point, that wouldn't necessarily have catastrophic consequences, Kilburn said. “If there’s a rupture, there is no guarantee that magma is going to erupt,” he said. “And that’s why with the observatory there, the official releases cover anything from just an increase in seismicity through to a small eruption, because we can’t really tell where we are in that just yet.” Calderas are often difficult to study because they are vast depressions over top of huge magmatic systems. Campi Flegrei, for instance, stretches 7 to 9 miles across. The Long Valley Caldera in California is about 10 miles wide. And one of the most famous calderas in the world, at Yellowstone National Park, measures 30 miles by 45 miles, according to the U.S. National Park Service. Coincidentally, the Long Valley Caldera also saw an uptick in earthquake activity in the 1980s and has been seismically stirring for decades, but scientists have been less concerned overall about a major eruption there in the foreseeable future. That's because there have been signs that the magma beneath it has been cooling. Ettore Biondi, a research scientist in the division of geological and planetary sciences at the California Institute of Technology, has tried to understand what has been unfolding in recent decades at the Long Valley Caldera. Biondi and his colleagues published a study last month in the journal Science Advances detailing a novel way of gathering acoustic sensing data with fiber-optic cables to capture snapshots of what is happening beneath the caldera's surface. An eruption cannot be ruled out completely, but the researchers found that a solid rock structure is actually covering the magma chamber at the Long Valley Caldera, which is likely preventing big eruptions from occurring. “That doesn’t imply that you can’t have smaller eruptions, but from a supervolcanic eruption perspective, I think as of now we are on the safe side,” Biondi said. He added that this method of gathering high-resolution underground images could be used at other volcano systems around the world, and particularly at ones that are not well understood. The results could help scientists better anticipate what is happening at volcanoes when they start to stir. “For certain volcanoes, we know very well what’s going on,” Biondi said. “For other volcanoes, we have no idea.” The inability to create reliable eruption forecasts owes largely to the fact that volcano systems are so varied. The way one volcano comes to life is not necessarily how others around the world signal an eruption is imminent. “We have to spend a lot of time on the volcanic system, monitoring it to understand what’s normal at that volcano, and then be able to recognize when something becomes abnormal,” said Poland, of the U.S. Geological Survey. Yellowstone, for instance, is hit by an average of around 2,000 earthquakes every year, and that seismic activity is not considered out of the ordinary, he said. At places like Campi Flegrei and the Long Valley Caldera, scientists have been putting in the work to understand what all the rumblings and geological changes really mean. “Volcanoes are sort of like people — they all have their own personality,” Poland said. “A big part of volcanology and monitoring active volcanoes is getting to understand the personality of the specific volcanoes that you’re interested in. And some volcanoes are noisier than others.”

And when it goes wrong...

Something else with 4 jet engines!

Not aviation, not environmentally correct, but, dayum!!!

Back in the 80's,,, PIA - The Green Monster.

Who has this skill set?

Now this is a cool paint job!

https://avgeekery.com/b-58-hustlers-sonic-booming-record-setting-machines/#google_vignette B-58 Hustlers Were Sonic Booming and Record Setting Machines

https://www.iflscience.com/we-may-have-just-had-our-first-ever-fight-in-space-71458 We May Have Just Had Our First-Ever Fight In Space A video appears to show the first military fight in space. Humanity may have conducted its first-ever fight in space last week after Israel claims its air force shot down an "aerial threat" outside of the Earth's atmosphere. The Israeli Defense Force (IDF) claims that it shot down a surface-to-surface missile allegedly fired from Yemen on 30 October using its Arrow system. According to the Telegraph, the missile flew almost 1,600 kilometers (1,000 miles) before the missile-defense system shot it down. Details of the incident are few, but the Telegraph reports that it took place above the official boundary of space, known as the Kármán Line, 100 kilometers (62 miles) above the Earth. If true, this would likely be the first ever military fight in space. Yemen’s Houthi militia claimed responsibility for the missile launch. According to Israeli Aerospace Industries, the Arrow 2 interceptor can intercept and destroy incoming tactical ballistic missiles and is "designed to operate in the atmosphere, and out [in] space", though this is the first time such capabilities appear to have been tested. The Arrow system, according to Haaretz, has only been used twice in operations in 25 years and has come under criticism for its enormous cost. "The successful interception is about much more than protecting the residents of Eilat and dealing a blow to the Houthis’ boastfulness,” an Israeli defense official told Haaretz, going on to claim that Iran had backed the attack. “Primarily, it proves to Iran, which was behind the launch and supplied the missile, that Israel has the ability to act against its missile program, and this has much broader implications for the regional conflict.”

Once again, your assumption is wrong

https://theaviationgeekclub.com/heres-why-the-tu-16-wing-to-wing-in-flight-refueling-system-took-a-heavy-toll-on-badger-crews-nerves/#google_vignette Here’s why the Tu-16 wing-to-wing in-flight refueling system took a heavy toll on Badger crews’ nerves

Then they should arm the cabin crew as well. And maybe even have a 'trusted passenger' program so they can carry guns. As for the number of crimes prevented by armed civilians, the armed civilians shooting people accidentally(or intentionally) only adds to the crime rate. Remember, one of the most heinous aviation crimes was committed with box cutters. https://www.gunviolencearchive.org/

Following second amendment logic, this could have all been avoided only if the Captain had a gun.

Well, the reason I post things like that is to engage my friends on AEF and to allow them to contribute some humour in these interesting times.

AC flight LHR-YYZ diverts to YUL to remove unruly passenger. https://www.cp24.com/news/video-shows-police-removing-disruptive-passenger-from-toronto-bound-overseas-flight-1.6613222 Video shows police removing 'disruptive' passenger from Toronto-bound overseas flight Video has surfaced of the tense moment a passenger on a Toronto-bound international flight was removed by police after the plane was forced to change course due to his “disruptive” behaviour. In video of the incident obtained by CTV News Toronto, a man on the packed flight from London’s Heathrow airport can be heard screaming as Montreal police officers board the plane during the unplanned stop and escort him off in handcuffs. The passenger who shot the video, who asked not to be identified, said the man’s removal came after he was restrained to his seat by flight attendants where he “kicked and screamed” for over an hour. “I believe he damaged a seat while he was restrained. A passenger that was near him had to be relocated while this occurred for his safety,” she said in an email, adding it’s unclear what led to the passenger’s seemingly erratic behavior. In a statement issued to CTV News Toronto, a spokesperson for Air Canada, which was operating the flight, confirmed the plane diverted to Montreal Saturday evening “as a safety precaution due to a disruptive passenger.” “Authorities met the aircraft and, after the individual was deplaned, it carried on to its final destination of Toronto,” the spokesperson said. Air Canada said there were 381 customers on the Boeing 777 aircraft at the time. It’s unclear what charges, if any, the removed passenger will face as a result of the incident. CTV News Toronto has reached out to Montreal police for more information about the passenger’s removal but has not yet received a response.