First B-21 Raider Is Now Undergoing Calibration Tests As Official Rollout Approaches
The first B-21 now “really looks like a bomber” and after calibration tests, the bomber’s systems can be fired up.
BY THOMAS NEWDICK MARCH 3, 2022
THE WAR ZONE
The U.S. Air Force’s next-generation B-21 Raider bomber is edging ever closer to its keenly-awaited first flight, with the news that the first example has begun calibration tests — one of the final hurdles before it’s actually taken out onto the tarmac where it will work up to its maiden flight. Calibration is a critical part of pre-flight testing for any aircraft and involves checking that the airframe is able to cope with the kinds of loads expected of it once it gets up in the air, including flying through turbulence, and different kinds of maneuvers, such as dropping weapons and landing.
The fact the first B-21 is now undergoing calibration tests means that the airframe itself is more or less complete. Indeed, the Air Force has confirmed that it now has its wings and landing gear fitted and “really looks like a bomber.”
That statement came from Randall Walden, director of the Air Force’s Rapid Capabilities Office, whose updates on the status of the program were reported by Air Force Magazine.
Walden described the loads calibration test as a “normal thing you do,” allowing test engineers to confirm that the structure of the stealth bomber “is designed and built to what we actually meant it to do.”
https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/44568/first-b-21-raider-is-now-undergoing-calibration-tests-as-official-rollout-approaches
