The test pilot explained why narrow portholes were installed on the B-21 Raider missile carrier
In early December, a presentation of the newest B-21 Raider missile carrier took place in Palmdale. The reporters present at it drew attention to the unusual shape of the portholes of the strategic bomber.
Last year, the US Air Force released a rendering of the new aircraft. The portholes on it also had an unusual shape. The B-21 Raider has narrower cockpit ‘windows’ than the B-2 Spirit.
Defense News journalists asked test pilot Clifton Bell to explain why Northrop Grumman engineers equipped the missile carrier with an unusual ‘windshield’. According to the pilot, the ‘windshield’ of the B-21 bomber is not so different from the B-2 portholes. The viewing area from changing the shape of the portholes did not decrease, since the plane is equipped with external cameras.
Bell suggested that the choice of the shape of the windshield was due to the desire of Northrop Grumman engineers to make the latest missile carrier more stealthy. Tests of the B-21 will continue in the United States for several months. After their completion, the bomber will be handed over to the US Air Force.
