Bomber Aircraft: B-2 Spirit

The B-2 Spirit, or stealth bomber, was developed and built by an industry team consisting of Northrop Grumman, Boeing, and Vought Aircraft Industries. Capable of delivering nuclear and conventional munitions, the B-2's primary mission is to attack time-critical targets early in a conflict to minimize an enemy's war-making potential. Twenty-one B-2 aircraft are assigned to the U.S Air Force 509th Bomb Wing at Whiteman Air Force Base, Mo.





Capabilities

The B-2 supplies the following capabilities to its two-member crew:

• Power plant: four General Electric F118-GE-100 engines
• Speed and flight range: high-subsonic speeds and long flight range
• Armaments: nuclear and conventional, including gravity bombs and maritime weapons
• Stealthy design: low-observability characteristics to avoid radar detection

B-2 Design

The B-2 bomber has the ability to elude radar-guided air defenses due to its low-observable characteristics, and has sufficient structural capacity to deliver large payloads at long range. The aircraft incorporates the following features:

• Advanced designs and technologies that make unprecedented use of composite materials
• Product assembly and finishing that meet extraordinary tolerances and quality standards
• Final production tooling implemented directly from the computer-aided design (CAD) system without the use of development tooling

Boeing's Role

Boeing in Seattle is currently doing work on the B-2's smart bomb rack and SATCOM radio. Boeing previously provided the following components:

• Primary structural components -- the outboard wing and aft-center sections
• Fuel systems
• Weapons-delivery system
• Landing gear

Milestones

• 1988: the first B-2 was completed
• 1989: made its first flight July 17
• 1991: the Air Force and B-2 industry team received the Collier Trophy
• 1993: the B-2 entered the U.S. Air Force operational fleet

HISTORY	:	First Flight,17 July 1989
		Service Entry April 1997

CREW:	two: pilot, co-pilot/mission commander

ESTIMATED COST:		$1.157 billion [1998$]

AIRFOIL SECTIONS	:	Wing Root unknown
		Wing Tip unknown

DIMENSIONS	:	Length 69.00 ft (21.03 m)
		Wingspan 172.00 ft (52.43 m)
		Height 17.00 ft (5.18 m)
		Wing Area 5,000 ft2 (465.5 m2)
		Canard Area, not applicable

WEIGHTS:
Empty 150,000 to 160,000 lb (68,040 to 72,575 kg)
Normal Takeoff 336,500 lb (152,635 kg)
Max Takeoff 376,000 lb (170,550 kg)
Fuel Capacity internal: 200,000 lb (90,720 kg)
external: none
Max Payload

40,000 lb (18,145 kg)

PROPULSION:
Powerplant four General Electric F118-110 turbofans
Thrust

76,000 lb (338 kN)

PERFORMANCE:
Max Level Speed at altitude: 530 mph (850 km/h) at 40,000 ft (12,190 m), Mach 0.8
at sea level: 485 mph (780 km/h), Mach 0.65
cruise speed: 515 mph (830 km/h) at 37,000 ft (11,275 m), Mach 0.78
Initial Climb Rate 3,000 ft (915 m) / min
Service Ceiling 50,000 ft (15,240 m)
Range typical: 6,000 nm (11,110 km)
w/1 aerial refueling: 10,000 nm (18,520 km)
g-Limits +2.0

ARMAMENT:
Gun none
Stations two internal bomb bays
Air-to-Surface Missile up to 16 AGM-69 SRAM II, up to 16 AGM-129 ACM, AGM-154 JSOW
Bomb up to 16 B61/B83 nuclear bombs, up to 80 Mk 82 500-lb GP, up to 16 Mk 84 2,000-lb GP, up to 36 M117 750-lb GP, up to 16 GBU-31 JDAM, up to 16 GBU-36, up to 8 GBU-37 (GAM-113), up to 36 CBU-87/89/97/98 cluster
Other up to 80 Mk 36 or Mk 62 500-lb sea mines

KNOWN VARIANTS:
B-2A Original bomber operating from Whitman AFB, Missiouri; 22 built

KNOWN COMBAT RECORD: Kosovo - Operation Allied Force (USAF, 1999)
Afghanistan - Operation Enduring Freedom (USAF, 2001)
Iraq - Operation Iraqi Freedom (USAF, 2003)

KNOWN OPERATORS: United States (US Air Force)