The B-2 is the only acknowledged aircraft
that can carry large air to surface
standoff weapons in a stealth
configuration. Development started under the Advanced Technology Bomber (ATB) project during the
carter administration, its expected
performance was one of the president's
reasons for the cancellation of the mach
2 capable B-1A bomber. The ATB project continued during the
reagan administration but worries about
delays in its introduction led to the
reinstatement of the B-1 program.
The winding down of the cold war in the
latter portion of the 1980s dramatically
reduced the need for the aircraft which
was designed with the intention of
penetrating soviet airspace and
attacking high value targets. During the late 1980s and 1990s congress
slashed plans to purchase 132 bombers to
21. As of 2018, 20 B-2s are in service with
the united states air force which plans
to operate them until 2032 when the Northrop Grumman B-21 raider is to
replace it.
The B-2 is capable of all altitude
attack missions up to 50,000 feet, fifteen thousand meters with a range of
more than six thousand nautical miles, six thousand nine hundred miles, eleven
thousand kilometers on internal fuel and
over ten thousand nautical miles, twelve
thousand miles, nineteen thousand
kilometers with one mid air refueling. It entered service in 1997 as the second
aircraft designed to have advanced
stealth technology after the lockheed F-117 nighthawk attack aircraft.
The B-2 spirit was developed to take
over the USAF's vital penetration
missions able to travel deep into enemy
territory to deploy ordnance which could
include nuclear weapons. The B-2 is a flying wing aircraft
meaning that it has no fuselage or tail. It has significant advantages over
previous bombers due to its blend of low
observable technologies with high
aerodynamic efficiency and large payload. Low observability provides a greater
freedom of action at high altitudes thus
increasing both range and field of view
for onboard sensors.
The development and construction of the B-2 required pioneering use of
computer-aided design and manufacturing
technologies, due to its complex flight
characteristics and design requirements
to maintain very low visibility to
multiple means of detection. The B-2 bears a resemblance to earlier
northrop aircraft. The YB-35 and YB-49 were
both flying wing bombers that had been
cancelled in development in the early
1950s allegedly for political reasons. The resemblance goes as far as B-2 and YB-49 having the same wingspan. The YB-49 also had a small radar cross
section.
Each aircraft has a crew of two, a pilot
in the left seat and mission commander
in the right and has provisions for a
third crew member if needed. For comparison the B-1B has a crew of
four in the B-52 has a crew of five. The B-2 is highly automated and one crew
member can sleep in a camp bed use a
toilet or prepare a hot meal while the
other monitors the aircraft unlike most
two-seat aircraft. Extensive sleep cycle and fatigue
research was conducted to improve crew
performance on long sorties.
