The new B-21 stealth bomber will achieve its long range through a massive internal fuel capacity.
The upcoming Northrup Grumman B-21 Raider is expected to have a remarkably long unfueled range. The new stealth bomber, which is set to replace the B-2 Spirit, will achieve its long range through a massive internal fuel capacity, an efficient, low-drag airframe, and modern, fuel-sipping engines.
Air Force General Randall Reed, who leads the U.S. Transportation Command (TRANSCOM), spoke recently about the B-21’s aerial refueling requirements while testifying to the Senate Armed Services Committee. When asked about providing an adequate tanker fleet for the B-21s, Reed answered that his emerging understanding of how U.S. Strategic Command (STRATCOM) intends to use the B-21s has helped to inform his answer of what tanker support the B-21 fleet will require.
“We got a really deep understanding in terms of how [STRATCOM] plan to employ their new aircraft, and that will drive a slightly different way in which we are to support them, which actually means that it’s going to be a little bit higher requirement, specifically in the fuel transfer,” Reed said.
A Higher Requirement
What exactly Reed meant, when he referred to “a little bit higher requirement, specifically in the fuel transfer” was never clarified. Reed could have been referring to the rate at which tankers dispense fuel; he could have been talking about the total fuel capacity that the tanker can transfer; or he could have been talking about both metrics.
Aviation Week noted that “guidelines set by the international Air Refueling Systems Advisory Group call for refueling booms to support a transfer rate up to 1,200 gal. per minute, an amount equivalent to about 8,000 lb. of JP-8 fuel.” While the exact dimensions of the B-21 are not yet known, “the bomber’s size is generally considered around two-thirds the mass of a B-2A.” And if a B-2A can carry up to 167,000 pounds of fuel, we can deduce that with a 1,200 gal. per minute transfer rate, a KC-46 tanker could need upwards of 17 minutes just to refill 80 percent of the fuel capacity of a B-2A.”
That’s a long time for two aircraft, flying at about 300 knots with 25,000 feet of altitude, to be physically linked together and transferring highly flammable jet fuel. So, reducing the amount of time needed for a B-21 refuel would be advantageous—especially considering that the B-21 risks compromising its stealthiness when taking fuel from a non-stealth tanker.
And the Air Force will likely need more tankers. “A force of Raiders could require a uniquely large group of tankers to support their operations compared to other types,” The War Zone reported. “The Air Force and TRANSCOM have been warning for years now about aerial refueling shortfalls due in part to growing peacetime demands.” However, if the Air Force procurers “tankers with greater fuel capacity tailored to the B-21’s needs and common mission profiles, fewer tankers could be needed to refuel B-21s on their global missions, freeing assets up for other tasking or just getting by with an overall smaller force.”
About the Author: Harrison Kass
Harrison Kass is a senior defense and national security writer with over 1,000 total pieces on issues involving global affairs. An attorney, pilot, guitarist, and minor pro hockey player, Harrison joined the US Air Force as a Pilot Trainee but was medically discharged. Harrison holds a BA from Lake Forest College, a JD from the University of Oregon, and an MA from New York University. Harrison listens to Dokken.
Image: DVIDS.
