B-2 Upgrades Proposed

Any word of these 'upgrades' tying in with the B-2B proposals for the long range strike program?


Would a common avionics (and indeed other components) package be retrofitted to the B-2As to ease maintenance?

Originally posted by kilcoo316
Any word of these 'upgrades' tying in with the B-2B proposals for the long range strike program?

Interestingly enough the guy who gave out the information on upgrades is David Mazur, Northrop Grumman’s Vice President of Long Range Strike initiatives. So yourquestion may indeed have merit. Good thought~

Yet another "upgrade"(?) for the B-2 announced by Northrop-Grumman's VP of LRS Initiatives is an onboard solid state laser.
Although the announcements states the laser would go in the weapons bay which is a little unusual.

High-energy laser weapons are a potential future upgrade for the Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit bomber, which is expected to remain in service beyond 2050. Improved passive and active stealth techniques are also expected to be needed beyond 2020 to keep the type viable as a penetrating bomber.

A US Air Force advanced concepts simulation exercise in November evaluated use of a solid-state laser system for positive combat identification and self-defence. The design concept deploys the laser from the aircraft's internal weapons bay, says Northrop programme manager Dave Mazur, and also uses its optics for target identification, as the only imaging sensor the B-2 carries is its radar.

Very nice indeed, it would be suich a waste to let it rust.

80 500 lbs bombs its almost a throw back to WW2 expect now only a fraction of the bombs are required to destroy a target. Now if a cheaper version of the B2 was produced that still had most of the current capability's including the upgrade I wouldnt mind seeing a few parked in this part of the world but thats another topic.

Unless-

A- you're attacking a area target rather than a point target.

or

B- those 80 bombs are GPS guided, and you take out a lot of targets simultaneously.

Originally posted by BlueRaja
Unless-

B- those 80 bombs are GPS guided, and you take out a lot of targets simultaneously.

That's it exactly! The 80, 500lbs. bombs on the B-2 are called GBU-30's. It's a varient of the Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM). JDAM is the lastest class of GPS guided Smart Bombs. have a look for yourself:

Joint Direct Attack Munition

Tim