stealth insertion

I was wondering wheter B2 bombers are capable of carrying personell (specops/paratroops) or cargo?

Since US Military operates in hostile territories (often covertly) i would assume that they'd have a aircraft capable of inserting and supplying specops in hostile area of operations. So is B2 able to do the job or is there another craft doing the job?

Naah, it's just a bomb plane... And besides it couldn't carry much troops...

PS:Finland rules...

The Spec Ops stealth tactical transport is supposedly called Senior Citizen and is another Scaled Composites product.

Good question, don’t know if they really need a B2 to make a stealthy insertion of Spec Ops but who knows(someone obviously does but they are not telling).

sounds like Metal Gear Solid 3 where the SR-71 was used to bring Snake into enemy territory. right now its too expensive and waste of resources to convert a stealth bomber to stealth transporter. better to do helos that fly low, or travel through the border by land, or get to enemy territory by sea.

Infilitration by land is of course the safest and steathiest way
..but, based on my experience, max speed of LRRecon unit moving on foot is around 50km-70km a day (with the load needed to survive a week or so) and no one can keep that pace for more that a few days. So i would see a need for fast and safe insertion method.
Helos alltough being quiet and flying low still have vey limited range and speed...

They've been known to use MC-130s and "tag along" with a commercial flight. They tuck in behind and below them so it looks like one target on radar, until they drop the troops. They have a special chute they use that lets them "fly" for miles, they just have to make sure the winds are correct for the insertion, and the 130 can tack onto the commercial flight in time.

Yes, most of the time they would use the C-130.

Originally posted by northwolf
I was wondering wheter B2 bombers are capable of carrying personell (specops/paratroops) or cargo?

Since US Military operates in hostile territories (often covertly) i would assume that they'd have a aircraft capable of inserting and supplying specops in hostile area of operations. So is B2 able to do the job or is there another craft doing the job?

Interesting concept though.
Great for SEAL or SAS teams. Parachute out of the bomb bays in the dead of night.

Originally posted by Zaphod58
They've been known to use MC-130s and "tag along" with a commercial flight. They tuck in behind and below them so it looks like one target on radar, until they drop the troops. They have a special chute they use that lets them "fly" for miles, they just have to make sure the winds are correct for the insertion, and the 130 can tack onto the commercial flight in time.

That technique of shadowing a commercial flight has been used since the cold war. That tech also got 290 ppl taken as prisioners when KAL 007 went down. For ppl that dont know that was a Boeing 747 that flew to close to russian airspace ended up shot down and the whole crew and passengers (one a senator) captured. It also came to surface later that for some of the flight a us recon plane was flying parallel and extremely close to 007.
So yah they do use the tag along idea but its really dangerous. I would prefer to hear that use helos most of the time but im not sure. Oh also insertion is one of the roles that the V-22 is now being PRODUCED for.

Maybe they can somehow attach (like a bomb) the spec operators to the internal weapons bay on a Raptor

Originally posted by warpboost
Maybe they can somehow attach (like a bomb) the spec operators to the internal weapons bay on a Raptor

I don't think that the weapons bay on an F-22 is large enough to put someone into. I don't think that it would work with a B-2 either. Neither one of these aircraft are designed for it.

The main thing that would have to be considered is life support for the Spec Ops people you are carrying. Judging from the size of the weapons bays these people are going to have to be transported in the prone position. That means that when the time comes for them to deploy they are going to have all kinds of kinked muscles and maybe reduced circulation to their limbs. That could spell bad news if they have to get clear of their landing zones quickly. If you add in the equipment necessary for them to be effective, the whole thing is too bulky to be carried in the weapons bays.

So now that we have detirmined its probably not best to drop people out of bombbays whats next? I was wondering how stealthy a V-22 could actually be to drop off troops? When you look at the thing it even "looks" like it would be freakin loud not to mention RCS though at a tree level drop thats not too much of an issue eh.

[edit on 12-8-2005 by Canada_EH]

One classic way is to get a tourist visa and fly to the nearest airport with passenger flight

Here's a thought.

What if the slow moving triangle shaped craft that seem to haunt the skies out west are actually large stealthy transports?

Here's an interesting ATS link that might tie these two threads together...

Triangle Craft over Sidney, TX

Originally posted by Canada_EH
That technique of shadowing a commercial flight has been used since the cold war. That tech also got 290 ppl taken as prisioners when KAL 007 went down. For ppl that dont know that was a Boeing 747 that flew to close to russian airspace ended up shot down and the whole crew and passengers (one a senator) captured. It also came to surface later that for some of the flight a us recon plane was flying parallel and extremely close to 007.

You need to check out your facts. There was no recon plane flying parallel to KAL007. The 747 was off course and flew into the area on a route commonly used by the USAF Cobra Ball aircraft. There had been a Cobra Ball eariler in the evening in the area and the Soviets thought that the 747 was it returning. Once it flew over Russian territory, it was shot down, no survivors.

www.jamesoberg.com...

Turning a B-2 into a troop transport would be quite a feat, and a great waste of money.