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63-668: The Lockheed Martin FB-22 was a proposed supersonic stealth bomber aircraft for the United States Air Force , derived from the F-22 Raptor air superiority fighter. Lockheed Martin proposed its design in the early 2000s with support from certain Air Force leaders as an interim "regional bomber" to complement the aging U.S. strategic bomber fleet, whose replacement was planned to enter service after 2037. The FB-22

126-479: A Congressional mandate for the service to update its bomber roadmap. The paper stated that the service's current fleet of strategic bombers consisting of the B-52 , B-1 , and B-2 would be sufficient until around 2037, when they will need to be replaced by a new "capability" with an acquisition program starting in 2019. However, this target date frustrated members of Congress who hoped to see greater budgetary emphasis on

189-473: A broad-span biconical delta, with each side bulging upwards towards the rear in a manner characteristic of the modern Rogallo wing . During the following year, in America U. G. Lee and W. A. Darrah patented a similar biconical delta winged aeroplane with an explicitly rigid wing. It also incorporated a proposal for a flight control system and covered both gliding and powered flight. None of these early designs

252-405: A delta foreplane just in front of and above the main delta wing. Patented in 1963, this configuration was flown for the first time on the company's Viggen combat aircraft in 1967. The close coupling modifies the airflow over the wing, most significantly when flying at high angles of attack. In contrast to the classic tail-mounted elevators, the canards add to the total lift as well as stabilising

315-543: A force of 150 FB-22s would equip the service. In 2004, Lockheed Martin officially presented the FB-22 to the Air Force to meet its requirement for a potential strategic bomber as an interim solution to become operational by 2018. Because of the work already done on the F-22, the cost of developing the FB-22 was estimated to be as low as 25% of developing a new bomber, with development expected to be US$ 5–7 billion (2002 dollars, ~$ 8.1 billion–11.3 billion in 2023), including

378-595: A loss of lift known as the stall . However, for a sharply-swept delta wing, as air spills up round the leading edge it flows inwards to generate a characteristic vortex pattern over the upper surface. The lower extremity of this vortex remains attached to the surface and also accelerates the airflow, maintaining lift. For intermediate sweep angles, a retractable "moustache" or fixed leading-edge root extension (LERX) may be added to encourage and stabilise vortex formation. The ogee or "wineglass" double-curve, seen for example on Concorde , incorporates this forward extension into

441-619: A second pilot in order to reduce workload and also act as a weapon systems officer (WSO). According to Air Force Magazine , the combination of range and payload of the FB-22 would have given the concept a comparable effectiveness to that of the B-2 armed with 2,000-lb bombs. The design was to still use the Pratt & Whitney F119 engines but modified for more power and optimized for subsonic efficiency rather than supercruise. While some FB-22 concepts featured no tailplanes (using research originally under

504-408: A significant increase in drag. However, on supersonic designs the opportunity is often taken to use a thinner aerofoil instead, in order to actually reduce drag. Like any wing, at low speeds a delta wing requires a high angle of attack to maintain lift. At a sufficiently high angle the wing exhibits flow separation , together with an associated high drag. Ordinarily, this flow separation leads to

567-407: A slender delta, the centre of lift approximates to halfway back along the leading edge. The sideways effect also leads to an overall reduction in lift and in some circumstances can also lead to an increase in drag. It may be countered through the use of leading-edge slots, wing fences and related devices. With a large enough angle of rearward sweep, in the transonic to low supersonic speed range

630-465: A top speed of Mach 1.92, while the FB-22-4 with maximal wing area would have topped out at around Mach 1.5. Because the aircraft was to emphasize air-to-ground capability while maintaining stealth characteristics, the FB-22 would have lacked the F-22's dogfighting capability although it could carry AIM-9 Sidewinders and AIM-120 AMRAAMs for self-defense against fighters. One aspect that arose during

693-434: Is known to have successfully flown although, in 1904, Lavezzani's hang glider featuring independent left and right triangular wings had left the ground, and Dunne's other tailless swept designs based on the same principle would fly. The practical delta wing was pioneered by German aeronautical designer Alexander Lippisch in the 1930s, using a thick cantilever wing without any tail. His first such designs, for which he coined

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756-495: The GBU-37 GPS-Aided Munition (GAM) or two 2,000-pound bombs in tandem. With stealth, the aircraft's maximum combat load was to have been 15,000 pounds (6,800 kg); without stealth, 30,000 pounds (13,600 kg). Combat radius was almost tripled from 600 nautical miles (690 mi; 1,100 km) to more than 1,600 nautical miles (1,800 mi; 3,000 km), which could have been extended further by

819-690: The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 . Canard delta  – Many modern fighter aircraft, such as the JAS 39 Gripen , the Eurofighter Typhoon and the Dassault Rafale use a combination of canard foreplanes and a delta wing. Like other tailless aircraft , the tailless delta wing is not suited to high wing loadings and requires a large wing area for a given aircraft weight. The most efficient aerofoils are unstable in pitch and

882-692: The Next-Generation Bomber program to fulfill this goal, although the program was later re-scoped and became the Long Range Strike Bomber program resulting in the B-21 Raider . Data from Lockheed Martin, Aerofax, Air Force Association General characteristics Performance Armament Related development Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era Related lists Bomber aircraft Too Many Requests If you report this error to

945-517: The X-44 MANTA program), most design proposals incorporated twin tailplanes and likely would have fixed axisymmetric engine nozzles as opposed to the thrust vectoring nozzles on the F-22. Though not designed for supercruise , the FB-22 would be capable of supersonic dash using afterburners . Projected maximum speed varied depending on the variant; faster versions such as the FB-22-2 would have had

1008-476: The 2025 to 2030 timeframe, it cautioned that this was not an in-depth or detailed bomber roadmap. Against this backdrop, some Air Force officials began considering an "interim" strike capability such as "regional bombers" to complement the existing fleet of strategic bombers while the service and the DoD explored ideas and timelines for a longer term replacement program. In 2001, Lockheed Martin began internal studies on

1071-413: The Air Force released an updated white paper on Long Range Strike Aircraft, which acknowledged these challenges and also anticipated a strategic shift from nuclear deterrence to conventional precision bombing and network-centric warfare for global power projection in potentially unexpected conflict zones. Although the updated paper identified the possibility of a replacement "capability" entering service in

1134-557: The FB-22-4 was similar to -3 but with maximal wing whose leading edge met with the upper edge of the caret inlet . The FB-22-4's maximal wing, which was around three times that of the F-22, enabled the storage of a much larger quantity of weapons and fuel. In addition, as a stealth bomber, the FB-22 was designed to carry weapons externally while maintaining stealth with the assistance of detachable and faceted pods dubbed "wing weapons bay"; previously, an aircraft could only remain stealthy if it carried its weapons internally. Various figures give

1197-463: The Javelin following the early loss of an aircraft to such conditions. Gloster's design team had reportedly opted to use a tailed delta configuration out of necessity, seeking to achieve effective manoeuvrability at relatively high speeds for the era while also requiring suitable controllability when being flown at the slower landing speeds desired. A lifting-canard delta can offer a smaller shift in

1260-587: The Second World War brought a halt to flight testing of the Pa-22 , although work continued for a time after the project garnered German attention. During the postwar era, Payen flew an experimental tailless delta jet, the Pa.49 , in 1954, as well as the tailless pusher-configuration Arbalète series from 1965. Further derivatives based on Payen's work were proposed but ultimately went undeveloped. Following

1323-544: The Second World War, developed the theory of the thin delta wing for supersonic flight. First published in January 1945, his approach contrasted with that of Lippisch on thick delta wings. The thin delta wing first flew on the Convair XF-92 in 1948, making it the first delta-winged jet plane to fly. It provided a successful basis for all practical supersonic deltas and the configuration became widely adopted. During

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1386-585: The Soviet Tupolev Tu-144 , the Tupolev first flying in 1968. While both Concorde and the Tu-144 prototype featured an ogival delta configuration, production models of the Tu-144 differed by changing to a double delta wing. The delta wings required these airliners to adopt a higher angle of attack at low speeds than conventional aircraft; in the case of Concorde, lift was maintained by allowed

1449-528: The US, typically to lower its drag, resulting in the replacement of its large vertical stabilizer with a smaller and more conventional counterpart, along with a normal cockpit canopy taken from a Lockheed P-80 Shooting Star . The work of French designer Nicolas Roland Payen somewhat paralleled that of Lippisch. During the 1930s, he had developed a tandem delta configuration with a straight fore wing and steep delta aft wing, similar to that of Causarás. The outbreak of

1512-570: The Wikimedia System Administrators, please include the details below. Request from 172.68.168.151 via cp1112 cp1112, Varnish XID 934568765 Upstream caches: cp1112 int Error: 429, Too Many Requests at Thu, 28 Nov 2024 07:46:46 GMT Delta wing Although long studied, it did not find significant applications until the Jet Age , when it proved suitable for high-speed subsonic and  supersonic flight. At

1575-485: The aerodynamic characteristics change considerably. It is in this flight regime that the waverider design, as used on the North American XB-70 Valkyrie , becomes practicable. Here, a shock body beneath the wing creates an attached shockwave and the high pressure associated with the wave provides significant lift without increasing drag. Variants of the delta wing plan offer improvements to

1638-671: The airflow over the main wing. This enables more extreme manoeuvres, improves low-speed handling and reduces the takeoff run and landing speed. During the 1960s, this configuration was considered to be radical, but Saab's design team judged that it was the optimal approach available for satisfying the conflicting performance demands for the Viggen, which including favourable STOL performance, supersonic speed, low turbulence sensitivity during low level flight, and efficient lift for subsonic flight. The close-coupled canard has since become common on supersonic fighter aircraft. Notable examples include

1701-574: The airframe development cost of US$ 1 billion (2003 dollars, ~$ 1.59 billion in 2023). It was later revealed that six different versions of the bomber were submitted, as targets, payload and range had yet to be defined. However, the FB-22 in its planned form was canceled in the wake of the 2006 Quadrennial Defense Review and subsequent developments as the Department of Defense favored a new strategic bomber with much greater range that would enter service in 2018. The Air Force would subsequently embark on

1764-413: The airspeed normal to the leading edge of the wing, thereby allowing the aircraft to fly at high subsonic , transonic, or supersonic speed, while the subsonic lifting characteristics of the airflow over the wing are maintained. Within this flight regime, drooping the leading edge within the shock cone increases lift, but not drag to any significant extent. Such conical leading edge droop was introduced on

1827-599: The avionics—it was considered prudent to give final assembly to Boeing in Seattle, Washington . Other than the wings, the aircraft would have retained much of the design of the F-22. This included 80% of the avionics , software, and flight controls. This commonality would have also significantly reduced the costs of software integration. In February 2003, during a session with the House Committee on Armed Services , Air Force Secretary James Roche said that he envisioned

1890-420: The basic configuration. Cropped delta  – tip is cut off. This helps maintain lift outboard and reduce wingtip flow separation (stalling) at high angles of attack. Most deltas are cropped to at least some degree. In the compound delta , double delta or cranked arrow , the leading edge is not straight. Typically the inboard section has increased sweepback, creating a controlled high-lift vortex without

1953-419: The bomber mission. Furthermore, the subsequent 2001 Department of Defense (DoD) Quadrennial Defense Review identified increasing threats to U.S. power projection, and the Air Force's aging bomber fleet. One of the key threats identified by the review was the increasing prevalence of sophisticated air defense systems which could deny airspace access to any aircraft without stealth capability . In November 2001,

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2016-400: The center of lift with increasing Mach number compared to a conventional tail configuration. An unloaded or free-floating canard can allow a safe recovery from a high angle of attack. Depending on its design, a canard surface may increase or decrease longitudinal stability of the aircraft. A canard delta foreplane creates its own trailing vortex. If this vortex interferes with the vortex of

2079-528: The early stages of the design process was the consideration that Boeing would be responsible for the final assembly of the aircraft. At the time, Lockheed Martin was making the mid-fuselage at its plant in Fort Worth, Texas , while assembling the F-22 in Marietta, Georgia . However, since Boeing was responsible for the manufacturing of parts of the fuselage and more crucially, the wings—as well as integrating

2142-704: The feasibility of the FB-22 as the company sought to leverage the design and capabilities of the F-22 Raptor, the result of the Advanced Tactical Fighter program. The studies primarily focused on the ability to survive and perform bombing missions (i.e. air interdiction ) in contested environments, in both day and night, against increasingly capable air defense systems and adversary fighter aircraft. Furthermore, experience gleaned from Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan also demonstrated

2205-530: The first operational jet fighters to feature a tailless delta wing when they entered service in 1956. Dassault's interest in the delta wing produced the Dassault Mirage family of combat aircraft, especially the highly successful Mirage III . Amongst other attributes, the Mirage III was the first Western European combat aircraft to exceed Mach 2 in horizontal flight. The tailed delta configuration

2268-524: The foreplane can increase drag at supersonic speeds and hence reduce the aircraft's maximum speed. Triangular stabilizing fins for rockets were described as early as 1529-1556 by the Austrian military engineer Conrad Haas and in the 17th century by the Polish-Lithuanian military engineer Kazimierz Siemienowicz . However, a true lifting wing in delta form did not appear until 1867, when it

2331-665: The formation of large low pressure vortices over the entire upper wing surface. Its typical landing speed was 170 miles per hour (274 km/h), considerably higher than subsonic airliners. Multiple proposed successors, such as the Zero Emission Hyper Sonic Transport ZEHST), have reportedly adopted a similar configuration to that Concorde's basic design, thus the Delta wing remains a likely candidate for future supersonic civil endeavours. During and after WWII, Francis and Gertrude Rogallo developed

2394-456: The fuselage and wings, while retaining much of the F-22's mission system avionics. With an early design later designated FB-22-1, Lockheed Martin lengthened and widened the fuselage to increase the internal weapons load; another design, the FB-22-2, had a stretched mid-fuselage for increased main bay capacity and featured an enlarged delta wing with greater leading edge sweep angle while the horizontal tails ( stabilators ) were removed. However, it

2457-569: The idea of a flexible wing which could be collapsed for storage. Francis saw an application in spacecraft recovery and NASA became interested. In 1961 Ryan flew the XV-8 , an experimental "flying Jeep" or "fleep". The flexible wing chosen for it was a delta and in use it billowed out into a double-cone profile which gave it aerodynamic stability. Although tested but ultimately never used for spacecraft recovery, this design soon became popular for hang gliders and ultra-light aircraft and has become known as

2520-515: The late 1940s, the British aircraft manufacturer Fairey Aviation became interested in the delta wing, its proposals led to the experimental Fairey Delta 1 being produced to Air Ministry Specification E.10/47 . A subsequent experimental aircraft, the Fairey Delta 2 set a new World air speed record on 10 March 1956, achieving 1,132 mph (1,811 km/h) or Mach 1.73. This raised

2583-487: The late 1940s. When used with a T-tail, as in the Gloster Javelin , like other wings a delta wing can give rise to a " deep stall " in which the high angle of attack at the stall causes the turbulent wake of the stalled wing to envelope the tail. This makes the elevator ineffective and the airplane cannot recover from the stall. In the case of the Javelin, a stall warning device was developed and implemented for

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2646-402: The main delta wing, this can adversely affect the airflow over the wing and cause unwanted and even dangerous behaviour. In the close-coupled configuration, the canard vortex couples with the main vortex to enhance its benefits and maintain controlled airflow through a wide range of speeds and angles of attack. This allows both improved manoeuvrability and lower stalling speeds, but the presence of

2709-527: The multinational Eurofighter Typhoon , France's Dassault Rafale , Saab's own Gripen (a successor to the Viggen) and Israel's IAI Kfir . One of the main reasons for its popularity has been the high level of agility in manoeuvring that it is capable of. When supersonic transport (SST) aircraft were developed, the tailless ogival delta wing was chosen for both the Anglo-French Concorde and

2772-444: The name "Delta", used a very gentle angle so that the wing appeared almost straight and the wing tips had to be cropped sharply (see below). His first such delta flew in 1931, followed by four successively improved examples. These prototypes were not easy to handle at low speed and none saw widespread use. During the latter years of World War II , Alexander Lippisch refined his ideas on the high-speed delta, substantially increasing

2835-616: The need for a foreplane. Examples include the Saab Draken fighter, the experimental General Dynamics F-16XL , and the Hawker Siddeley HS. 138 VTOL concept. The ogee delta (or ogival delta ) used on the Anglo-French Concorde supersonic airliner is similar, but with the two sections and cropped wingtip merged into a smooth ogee curve. Tailed delta  – adds a conventional tailplane (with horizontal tail surfaces), to improve handling. Common on Soviet types such as

2898-523: The other end of the speed scale, the Rogallo flexible wing proved a practical design for the hang glider and other ultralight aircraft . The delta wing form has unique aerodynamic characteristics and structural advantages. Many design variations have evolved over the years, with and without additional stabilising surfaces. The long root chord of the delta wing and minimal area outboard make it structurally efficient. It can be built stronger, stiffer and at

2961-413: The payload of the FB-22 to be 30 to 35 Small Diameter Bombs ; this is compared to the F-22's payload of eight of such 250-pound (110 kg) weapons. The main weapon bay doors would also be bulged to allow internal carriage of 2,000-pound (910 kg) bombs in the fuselage. By employing the wing weapons bay, the FB-22 was designed to be able to carry bombs up to 5,000 pounds (2,270 kg) in size such as

3024-489: The production Convair F-102A Delta Dagger at the same time that the prototype design was reworked to include area-ruling . It also appeared on Convair's next two deltas, the F-106 Delta Dart and B-58 Hustler . At high supersonic speeds, the shock cone from the leading edge root angles further back to lie along the wing surface behind the leading edge. It is no longer possible for the sideways flow to occur and

3087-436: The profile of the wing. In this condition, the centre of lift approximates to the centre of the area covered by the vortex. In the subsonic regime, the behaviour of a delta wing is generally similar to that of a swept wing. A characteristic sideways element to the airflow develops. In this condition, lift is maximised along the leading edge of the wing, where the air is turned most sharply to follow its contours. Especially for

3150-552: The record above 1,000 mph for the first time and broke the previous record by 310 mph, or 37 per cent; never before had the record been raised by such a large margin. In its original tailless form, the thin delta was used extensively by the American aviation company Convair and by the French aircraft manufacturer Dassault Aviation . The supersonic Convair F-102 Delta Dagger and transonic Douglas F4D Skyray were two of

3213-500: The same time lighter than a swept wing of equivalent aspect ratio and lifting capability. Because of this it is easy and relatively inexpensive to build—a substantial factor in the success of the MiG-21 and Mirage aircraft series. Its long root chord also allows a deeper structure for a given aerofoil section. This both enhances its weight-saving characteristic and provides greater internal volume for fuel and other items, without

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3276-476: The studies attracted the attention of several Air Force leaders, including Secretary of the Air Force James Roche in 2002. One primary objective of the internal studies was to exploit and further expand upon the F-22's high speed air-to-ground capability while keeping costs to a minimum. To this end, the company devised several concepts that saw significant structural redesigns with respect to

3339-662: The sweepback of the wing's leading edge. An experimental glider, the DM-1 , was built to test the aerodynamics of the proposed P.13a high-speed interceptor . Following the end of hostilities, the DM-1 was completed on behalf of the United States and the shipped to Langley Field in Virginia for examination by NACA (National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, forerunner of today's NASA ) It underwent significant alterations in

3402-635: The tailless type must use a less efficient design and therefore a bigger wing. Techniques used include: The main advantages of the tailless delta are structural simplicity and light weight, combined with low aerodynamic drag. These properties helped to make the Dassault Mirage III one of the most widely manufactured supersonic fighters of all time. A conventional tail stabiliser allows the main wing to be optimised for lift and therefore to be smaller and more highly loaded. Development of aircraft equipped with this configuration can be traced back to

3465-575: The use of external fuel tanks. This range capability placed the aircraft in the category of a regional bomber, comparable to that of the F-111 , as it was intended to replace the F-15E Strike Eagle and take over some of the missions of the B-1 and B-2 . With the FB-22's greatly increased range and endurance, Lockheed Martin also extended the forward fuselage by 60 inches (1.5 m) to accommodate

3528-402: The value of a bomber that could reach targets quickly and remain in theatre in the absence of surface-to-air missiles . The F-22, while designed as an air superiority fighter , embodied some degree of air-to-ground attack ability through precision strikes with Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAM), with further strike capability improvements planned with upgrades. Though initially unsolicited,

3591-569: The war, the British developed a number of subsonic jet aircraft that harnessed data gathered from Lippisch's work. One such aircraft, the Avro 707 research aircraft, made its first flight in 1949. British military aircraft such as the Avro Vulcan (a strategic bomber ) and Gloster Javelin (an all-weather fighter) were among the first delta-equipped aircraft to enter production. Whereas the Vulcan

3654-405: The wing's leading edge remains behind the shock wave boundary or shock cone created by the leading edge root. This allows air below the leading edge to flow out, up and around it, then back inwards creating a sideways flow pattern similar to subsonic flow. The lift distribution and other aerodynamic characteristics are strongly influenced by this sideways flow. The rearward sweep angle lowers

3717-681: Was patented by J.W. Butler and E. Edwards in a design for a low-aspect-ratio, dart-shaped rocket-propelled aeroplane. This was followed by various similarly dart-shaped proposals, such as a biplane version by Butler and Edwards, and a jet-propelled version by the Russian Nicholas de Telescheff . In 1909 a variant with a canard foreplane was experimented with by the Spanish sculptor Ricardo Causarás. Also in 1909, British aeronautical pioneer J. W. Dunne patented his tailless stable aircraft with conical wing development. The patent included

3780-439: Was a classic tailless design, the Javelin incorporated a tailplane in order to improve low-speed handling and high-speed manoeuvrability, as well as to allow a greater centre of gravity range. Gloster proposed a refinement of the Javelin that would have, amongst other changes, decreased wing thickness in order to achieve supersonic speeds of up to Mach 1.6. The American aerodynamicist Robert T. Jones , who worked at NACA during

3843-531: Was adopted by the TsAGI (Central Aero and Hydrodynamic Institute, Moscow ), to improve high angle-of-attack handling, manoeuvrability and centre of gravity range over a pure delta planform. The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 ("Fishbed") became the most widely built combat aircraft of the 1970s. Through the 1960s, the Swedish aircraft manufacturer Saab AB developed a close-coupled canard delta configuration, placing

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3906-429: Was later found that doing so would have incurred a cost penalty of 25–30% in weight, materials and development. Instead, the company subsequently focused on leaving the fuselage intact as much as possible while enlarging the diamond-like delta wing with the same sweep angles as the F-22. Several proposals in this vein were investigated. The FB-22-3 used the stock fuselage with enlarged delta wings and no stabilators, while

3969-428: Was to leverage much of the design work and components from the F-22 to reduce development costs. Lockheed Martin suspended work on the concept following the 2006 Quadrennial Defense Review , which called for a new and much larger strategic Next-Generation Bomber by 2018; the program had morphed into the Long Range Strike Bomber . In March 1999, the Air Force released a Long Range Bombers white paper in response to

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