Re: B-2 at Groom


Message posted by Peter Merlin on December 29, 2006 at 10:51:19 PST:


Sorry, Jeffro, you just lost your farm.

The B-2 made its maiden flight at AF Plant 42 in Palmdale, California, on 17 July 1989.

Every B-2 bomber did, however, undergo radar cross-section (RCS) measurements at Groom Lake using the Dynamic Coherent Measurement System (DYCOMS).

The DYCOMS is an airborne RCS range allowing real-time RCS measurement of an aircraft in flight. All B-2 airframes underwent RCS verification using this method. The same is true for the F-117A. If one of these airplanes is modified or coated with a new type of radar absorbent material (RAM) the RCS has to reverified. I actually saw both a B-2 and F-117A flying over Groom Lake on the morning of 5 March 1993, possibly for RCS tests.

The fourth F-22A was used for initial RCS testing at Groom, as well.

For RCS testing, the airplane need not actually land at the Groom Lake airfield. It just has to fly over and complete a series of maneuvers to present the airplane from all conceivable angles to accurately measure the radar backscatter pattern.


In Reply to: B-2 at Groom posted by Jeffro on December 29, 2006 at 9:25:41 PST:

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