Super Weapons - B-2 Spirit Strategic Stealth Bomber

By Author: dotstan
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B-2 Spirit strategic bomber is a product of the Cold War, and developed by the Northrop Grumman Corp for the United States Air Force in the late 1970s. The prototype was started to manufacture in 1981, and scheduled its first test flight in 1989. Later, the plan was amended to give B-2 both high and low altitude penetration capability, as well as perform dual nuclear and conventional bombing missions.

The B-2A stealth bomber bears two crews, a body length of 21.03m, height of 5.18m, wingspan of 52.43m, and maximum payload of 22,680kg; equipped with 4 sets of F118-GE-110 non-afterburning turbofans produced by General Dynamics Corporation. B-2 bomber is wing-body integration, tailless flying wing configuration; wing leading edges are joined in the head, and trailing edges are serrated. With extensive use of the graphite/carbon fiber composites, honeycomb structure, absorbing coating on the surface of the fuselage and wings; the engine vents placed on top of the wings, this unique exterior design and materials can effectively avoid radar detection and achieve a good stealth effect. There are three combat missions for B-2: ...
... One, to go deep into hinterland of the enemies to perform high precision bombing or missile firing, giving the weapon systems the highest efficiency; Two, to detect, identify and destroy moving targets; Three, to establish deterrence power. US Air Force threatened B-2 bombers have the ability to take off from the United States to attack targets anywhere in the world within hours after receiving order of war.

B-2 participated in three wars. On March 24 1999, two B-2s took off from Whiteman Air Force Base; after 30 hours of continuous flight and twice air refueling, they put the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia 32,908kg JDAM(joint direct attack munitions). And this is its first time to be in war. Throughout the Kosovo War, six B-2s flew 45 sorties and dropped 656 JDAMs at many important targets in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia; it flew less than 1% of the quantity of flight in that war, but 11% of the bomb volume and destroyed nearly 33% of the targets. In Afghan War, six B-2s took off from America, flew over the Pacific, Southeast Asia and the Indian Ocean to Afghanistan to released 96 JDAMs and then flew back, which created a record of continuous combat flight for 44 hours.

On February 23 2008, a US B-2 strategic bomber crashed in Guam Air Force Base. Twenty ones remain with a unit price up to $2.22 billion, which is the world's most expensive aircraft ever.

The high cost and complex maintenance and repair keep away any country outside the United States. In the US, B-2 production lines have been shut down, and 90% of more than 4000 B-2 component suppliers have also converted their production lines. Even commander of the 509 BW which operates the B-2 Spirit stealth bomber, Brigadier General Thomas Gosling, had to admit that there will be no B-3 or B-4 in the next 20 years. Perhaps 30 years later, we realize the Spirit is just a brilliant touch of afterglow in bomber history.

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