Patents Reveal Shap of Northrop Grumman Bomber

Rather unsurprisingly, Northrop Grumman's design for the "Next Generation Bomber" (NGB) looks rather a lot like the cranked kite concept that has been floating around for some time.

Among other things, it's supposed to provide much lower drag, and better high altitude performance than the original B-2, giving improved range, though some of the additional range appears to be at the expense of weapons load: word is that payload is in the 20,000 pound range, or about ½ that of its predecessors.

There is an additional interesting bit of information in another Northrop-Grumman patent application, which shows the aircraft with a mustache.

Given the stealth requirements for the aircraft, and the fact that it will generally be operating at high altitude at relatively high mach numbers, the obvious conclusion is that this is a retractable canard, much like the Tu-144 Charger and the Mirage Milan. (in the latter, the retractable canards were actually called a "mustache")

The advantages on takeoff and landing are clear, giving a whole lot more pitch authority than is generally available with a short coupled tailless design, which can increase max takeoff and landing weight, decrease takeoff and landing speeds, and shrink the landing gear and breaking systems.