Design for the B-2 Stealth Bomber
During the initial project of the Stealth Bomber, Hal Markarian was appointed as project manager.[2]
The first sketches of the aircraft were done by Markarian in June 1979.[3] Markarian's proposal was one of the two designs that were considered in the making of the Stealth Bomber. Markarian's proposal was very similar to the YB-49, an aircraft designed by Northrop Grumman three decades earlier in 1947.[4]
The design was influenced by Irv Waaland and John Cashen who were experts in stealth technology.[3] The team also included aerodynamicist Hans Grellman, as well as Dick Scherrer, a designer who had arrived from Lockheed.[5] The design was much lighter and thinner than the modern B-2 Stealth Bomber and had six engines equipped, most likely GE F404.[1] The aircraft had a diamond shaped center body which served to accommodate a crew, fuselage and weapons.[3]
The aircraft design that Northrop Grumman would later adopt was similar, though it had a deeper center-section of the aircraft than Markarian's design. Due to demands from the Strategic Air Command, the aircraft was also made much heavier and had larger weapon carriers.[1]