Aircraft

Northrop bid sees testbed role for B-2

By Guy Norris

Manufacturer to use bomber as technology demonstrator

Northrop Grumman is raising the stakes in its bid to win the US Air Force’s next-generation long-range strike aircraft contest by planning to use the B-2A bomber as a flying demonstrator.

The aircraft would be used to test long-range strike technologies that could also provide future upgrades of the B-2A itself. News of the initiative comes as Northrop nears completion of the USAF’s analysis of alternatives (AoA) studies on long-range strike, which calls for a target service entry of 2018-20.

Along with Boeing and Lockheed Martin, which are also engaged in the AoA studies, the growing Northrop consensus is that the most realistic long-range strike solutions are likely to be subsonic rather than supersonic or hypersonic. However, all appear more convinced that the new platform will carry supersonic/hypersonic weapons.

“The thing that’s least achievable by 2018 is hypersonic,” says Boeing precision engagement and mobility systems vice-president Darryl Davis. “The least risk approach would be subsonic...if you want entry into service by 2018.”

Long-range strike demonstration items for the B-2A would primarily include enhanced systems and survivability features. “We would burn down the risk for long-range strikes by doing development and testing on the B-2,” says Northrop long-range strike vice-president Dave Mazur. “We’ve got to improve the signature of this aircraft and that technology can be transferred to long-range strike. It makes sense to do the technology on this because [the B-2] can go places other aircraft cannot.”

Northrop says the testbed idea would also help develop a concept of operations with other future networked aircraft. “If we look at the force structure in 2024, we’re going to have F-22, F-35, B-2 and the next-generation long-range strike – whatever that is – so we have to think of complementary platforms. I’m working with the SPO [system programme office] and air force on what that roadmap should be,” says Mazur.

The plan includes nearer-term upgrades, such as adapting the bomber to carry small diameter bombs (SDB) and high-resolution synthetic-aperture radar (SAR), which Northrop wants to introduce under a gradual upgrade approach being discussed with the USAF and the B-2A SPO.

“We want to focus on more kills per sortie with SDB and high-resolution SAR. As current upgrades taper off, we should be ramping up with other upgrades and we’ve come up with an incremental approach with the SPO. We are looking for Congressional ‘plus-ups’ for help with starting that this year,” says Mazur, who says the plan is for upgrades to be introduced in two-year cycles.