The Northrop B-2 Spirit is a revolutionary long range stealth bomber designed by the Northrop Grumman Corporation for use by the United States Air Force. With it’s sleek flying wing design, advanced stealth technology and advanced weapons capabilities the B-2 Spirit has made its mark in history as an exceptional piece of military aviation.
History
In 1979 the Advanced Technology Bomber program began and was given the codename “Aurora”. Many design teams had to be sorted through and the ATB program had narrowed them down to two teams, Northrop/Boeing and Lockheed/Rockwell. Northrop submitted their proposal, codename “Senior Ice” and the Lockheed design codenamed “Senior Peg”. In the end Northrop’s design was chosen on the 20th of October 1981, it was then designated the B-2 Spirit.
Much of the development of the B-2 was conducted in secrecy at Edwards Air Force Base in and was first displayed to the public on the 22nd of November 1988 with the B-2’s first flight taking place on the 17th of July 1989. The first B-2 was delivered to Whiteman AFB in Missouri on the 17th of December 1993.
The B-2 Spirit’s combat effectiveness was proven during it’s combat debut in 1999 during the Kosovo War where they were responsible for destroying 33% of the Serbian bombing targets just in the first 8 weeks of US involvement in the war. It was in this war where the first use of Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) bombs where used being deployed by the B-2. Whilst the B-2 only accounted for 50 of the total 34,000 NATO sorties during the war they dropped 11% of all bombs during the war. 6 B-2’s flew a non-stop mission from their home base in Missouri to Yugoslavia and back which totaled 30 hours.
During the war in Afghanistan the B-2 saw service in Operation Enduring Freedom where it was used for striking various ground targets. It would be during the war in Afghanistan where the B-2 would fly it’s longest mission to date, with the help of aerial refueling the B-2 flew from it’s home base in Missouri to Afghanistan and back.
During the Iraq War B-2’s conducted various combat missions from their home base but were also stationed in undisclosed forward operating locations. These forward operating locations have been previously designated as Andersen AFB in Guam and RAF Fairford in the UK. The B-2 flew 27 sorties from their home base and 22 sorties from various forward operating locations where they dropped more than 1.5 million pounds or 680,000kg of munitions which include 583 JDAM’s in 2003.
The B-2 as also been used in various strikes in the middle east including in Operation Odyssey Dawn, the UN enforcement of the Libyan no-fly zone where 2 B-2’s dropped 40 bombs on a Libyan airfield. In 2017 2 B-2’s were involved in a strike against an ISIS training camp in Libya, they dropped a total of 108 500lbs GBU-38 JDAM’s which killed around 85 militants.
Performance
Cruise Speed: 900kph (560mph)
Max Speed: 1,010kph (630mph)
Range: 11,000km (6,900mi) [This is without aerial refuelling]
Service Ceiling: 15,200m (50,000ft)
Specifications
Engine: 4 x General Electric F118-GE-100 non afterburning turbofans - 77kN (17,300lbf) each.
*Weight
Empty: 71,700kg (158,000lbs)
Max Take-off: 170,600kg (376,000lbs)
Fuel Capacity: 75,750kg (167,000lbs)
*Size
Length: 21m (69ft)
Height: 5.18m (17ft)
Wingspan: 52.4m (172ft)
Wing Area: 478m² (5,140sq ft)
-
Armament
2 x Internal bays with an official max limit of 18,000kg (40,000lbs) with an estimated limit of 23,000kg (50,000lbs)
80 x 500lbs (230kg) Mk-82/GBU-38 bombs
80 x Mk-62 500lb sea mines
36 x 750lb (340kg) bombs
34x CBU-87/CBU-89
16 x 2,000lbs (910kg) Mk-84/GBU-31 bombs
16 x B61/B83 Nuclear Bombs
16 x AGM-154 JSOW’s
16 x AGM-158 JASSM’s
2 x GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator, 30,000lbs (14,000kg) “Bunker Buster” bombs -
Avionics and Systems
AN/APQ-181 AESA Multi-mode radar.
Terrain Following Radar
GPS Guidance
AN/APR-50 Defensive Management System (DMS) -
Stealth
Alternate High Frequency Material (AHFM) Stealth Coating
Radar Cross Section reportedly of 0.75-0.05m²
Pictures
The first public flight of the B-2 in 1989
The B-2 as seen from below
A side view of the B-2
A 2,000lbs BDU-56 dummy bomb being loaded onto the B-2’s rotary bomb bay launcher.
A view of the B-2’s cockpit.
Vice President Dick Cheney being shown the inside of the B-2’s cockpit during a visit to Whiteman AFB in 2006.
- Yes
- No
- As a Tech Tree Vehicle
- As an Event Vehicle
- As a Premium Vehicle
- I said no
- 11.0-11.7
- 12.0-12.7 (depending on ground BR decompression)
- 13.0-13.7 (depending on ground BR decompression)
- 14.0+ (depending on ground BR decompression)
- I Said No
- 9.0-9.7
- 10.0-10.7
- 11.0-11.7
- 12.0-12.7
- I Said No
Sources
FY16 Air Force Programs - B.2 Defensive Management System Modernization (DMS-M)
Air and Space Forces Magazine - B-2 Spirit
Wikipedia - Northrop B-2 Spirit
Air Force - B-2 Spirit
Northrop Grumman - B-2 Technical Details
National Museum of the United States Air Force - Northrop B-2 Spirit
Britannica - B-2
Airforce Technology - B-2 Spirit Stealth Bomber