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B-2 bomber turns 36 today

B-2 bomber turns 36 today

Happy birthday to B-2 Spirit Stealth Bomber. On July 17, 1989, the B-2 spirit entered the sky for the first time. The flight started at Palmdale Plant 42 and landed at Edwards Air Force Base. The bomber was piloted by B-2 test pilot Bruce Hinds and B-2 test force commander Richard Couch. The first flight time is more than 2 hours. The entire flight was driven by the gears.

B-2 Spirit Stealth BomberB-2 Spirit Stealth Bomber
Washington’s B-2 Spirit 88-0332 Arrives at Palmdale | Photo: Northrop Grumman/USAF

Here is the B-2 spirit of the number:

The number of years of flight of B-2. The B-2 first entered the sky for a test flight on July 17, 1989.

The total planned cost per aircraft. The figure includes development, testing, engineering and production.

B-2 Spirit Stealth BomberB-2 Spirit Stealth Bomber
Image: Northrop Grumman/USAF

The maximum takeoff weight of the B-2 Spirit Bomber is pounds.

Total number of bombers (20 activities, 1 test).

The B-2 has a wingspan of 20 feet (172 feet (B-2) vs. 152 feet (767)) longer than the Boeing 767 passenger plane.

The combat ceiling of the B-2.

B-2 Spirit Stealth BomberB-2 Spirit Stealth Bomber
Image: Northrop Grumman/USAF

The B-2 can carry a payload of 20 tons.

Total number of major events.

February 23, 2008: B-2 The Spirit of Kansas Due to the condensation of the aircraft’s port sensor unit, the crash in Guam, causing the air data computer to receive incorrect airspeed information.

February 2010: B-2 The Spirit of Washington Guam suffered severe fire damage. It took 2 years to repair the aircraft that is currently in use.

September 13-14, 2021: B-2 Georgia’s Spirit The gear collapsed due to worn landing gear springs and hydraulic microcracks, landed urgently at Whiteman AFB and headed to the runway. The initial repair cost is estimated at $10.1 million.

December 10, 2022: The B-2 experienced an on-board failure and made an emergency landing at Whiteman AFB. No one was injured, but a brief fire broke out. All B-2s are based on the basis until May 2023, when grounding was not explained. In May 2024, the Air Force announced plans to retire B-2, saying that repairs are not economical.

The year the B-2 debuted in Operation Allied. Two B-2s took off from Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri and flew to Kosovo for 31 hours, hit multiple targets, and then turned around and flew directly. Even though the B-2 flew 1% of all missions in the first eight weeks, it was still responsible for achieving an astonishing 33% of the target.

B-2 Spirit Stealth BomberB-2 Spirit Stealth Bomber
Image: Northrop Grumman/USAF

The number of hours it takes to complete the longest aerial combat mission in world history. In 2001, six B-2s, including American Spiritfirst enter the Afghan airspace for a 44-hour mission. Even before another 30 hours to Missouri, a man even made a quick 45-minute pit stop – the engine run. This has been more than 70 hours, almost constantly. this The next longest mission It was in the midnight hammer operation in June 2025 for 36 consecutive hours.

The percentage of the B-2 fleet was deployed in operation Midnight Hammer in June 2025.

The number of MK-82 bombs that the B-2 bomber can carry inside.

Estimated Radar Cross-section (RCS) B-2 bomber in M^2. By contrast, the RCS of B-52 is estimated to be 100 m^2.