Images of the batwing bomber, surrounded by F-16s, have emerged.
Noteworthy, the image was taken as the B-2 had its landing gear extended even if the stealth bomber performed a round-robin mission from the Continental US.
On the previous day, the Republic of Korea Armed Forces had published some interesting images, including one showing South Korean Air Force personnel using powerful searchlights during night drills.
Now (bit of humor “on”), combine the images and here’s how the stealth bomber flyover can be explained.
David Cenciotti is a journalist based in Rome, Italy. He is the Founder and Editor of “The Aviationist”, one of the world’s most famous and read military aviation blogs. Since 1996, he has written for major worldwide magazines, including Air Forces Monthly, Combat Aircraft, and many others, covering aviation, defense, war, industry, intelligence, crime and cyberwar. He has reported from the U.S., Europe, Australia and Syria, and flown several combat planes with different air forces. He is a former 2nd Lt. of the Italian Air Force, a private pilot and a graduate in Computer Engineering. He has written five books and contributed to many more ones.
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7 Comments
What is the point of having the landing gear extended? Is it just to deliberately augment the RCS?
My thought: make sure it shows up on North Korea’s radars so they know it’s there. Just a guess.
Maybe, but with 5 or 6 planes escorting it, there’s no need to extend the LG to increase the RCS and make sure something shows up on the radars…
Like a visit to an optometrist:
“Which is better, North Korea?
One , or two .”
“Be honest, North Korea. You didn’t see the figure in the middle, did you?”
nerd
Possibly to be visible on the radar, opening the wheel bays will disrupt the stealth form of the aircraft.
What is the point of having the landing gear extended? Is it just to deliberately augment the RCS?
My thought: make sure it shows up on North Korea’s radars so they know it’s there. Just a guess.
Maybe, but with 5 or 6 planes escorting it, there’s no need to extend the LG to increase the RCS and make sure something shows up on the radars…
Like a visit to an optometrist:
“Which is better, North Korea?
One , or two .”
“Be honest, North Korea. You didn’t see the figure in the middle, did you?”
nerd
Possibly to be visible on the radar, opening the wheel bays will disrupt the stealth form of the aircraft.
That’s how they roll