Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit

B-2 Spirit
	A U.S. Air Force B-2 Spirit over the Pacific Ocean in May 2006.
Role	Strategic stealth bomber
National origin	United States
Manufacturer	Northrop Corporation; Northrop Grumman
First flight	17 July 1989
Introduction	April 1997
Status	In service
Primary user	United States Air Force
Produced	1988-2000
Number built	21
Program cost	US$44.75 billion (through 2004)
Unit cost	$737 million (1997 approx. flyaway cost)

The Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit, also called the Stealth Bomber, is an American strategic bomber. It has a lot of stealth technology, and it is designed to get through many anti-aircraft defenses. It can drop both conventional and nuclear weapons. Two people fly the bomber, and it can drop up to 80 500 lb (230 kg)-class JDAM GPS-guided bombs, or sixteen 2,400 lb (1,100 kg) B83 nuclear bombs.

The bomber began being designed as the "Advanced Technology Bomber" (ATB) during the Carter administration. The designing of the ATB continued during the Reagan administration. The bomber was designed and is made by Northrop Grumman, with help from Boeing. Each aircraft cost US$737 million (in 1997 dollars).^[3]

Because the bomber is very expensive, the project was controversial in the U.S. Congress. The end of the Cold War meant that the bomber was not really needed anymore. Congress wanted to buy 132 bombers, but during the late 1980s and 1990s, Congress reduced this to 21. In 2008, a B-2 was destroyed in a crash shortly after takeoff. The crew got out safely.^[4] 20 B-2s are being used by the United States Air Force.

Although the B-2 was supposed to be a mainly nuclear bomber, it was first used in combat to drop normal bombs on Serbia during the Kosovo War in 1999. It was used during the Iraq War and it was used in the war in Afghanistan.^[5]

In 2023, it landed for the first time on the European mainland; The plane is expected to leave Norway after training with air forces in Europe.^[6]

Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit Media

The B-2's first public display in 1988 at Palmdale, California: in front of the B-2 is a star shape formed with five B-2 silhouettes
The B-2's first public flight in 1989
B-2 bomber (USAF) from below
A U.S. Air Force B-2 Spirit bomber. The B-2 Spirit is a multi-role bomber capable of delivering both conventional and nuclear munitions. A dramatic leap forward in technology, the bomber represents a major milestone in the U.S. bomber modernization program. The B-2 brings massive firepower to bear, in a short time, anywhere on the globe through previously impenetrable defenses.
A 2,000 lb (910 kg) BDU-56 bomb being loaded onto a bomb bay's rotary launcher, 2004
A maintenance crew servicing a B-2 at Andersen AFB, Guam, 2004
Vice President Dick Cheney inside a B-2 cockpit with pilot Capt. Luke Jayne during a visit to Whiteman AFB, 2006
The B-2's engines are buried within its wing to conceal the engines' fans and minimize their exhaust signature.
Illustration of the B-2's basic radar reflection angles
The gap below the air intake has the purpose of keeping the boundary layer out of the jet engine.