The B-2 bomber, commonly known as the stealth bomber, was an ambitious project, to say the least. In the 1970s, the U.S. military wanted a replacement for the aging B-52 bomber. They needed a plane that could carry nuclear bombs across the globe, to the Soviet Union, in only a few hours. And they wanted it to be nearly invisible to enemy sensors.
As you might expect, hiding a giant plane is no easy task. Northrop Grumman, the defense firm that won the bomber contract, spent billions of dollars and nearly 10 years developing the top secret project. The finished product is a revolutionary machine -- a 172-foot wide flying wing that looks like an insect to radar scanners! The craft is also revolutionary from an aeronautics perspective: It doesn't have any of the standard stabilizing systems you find on a conventional airplane, but pilots say it flies as smoothly as a fighter jet.
In this article, we'll find out how the B-2 flies and how it "vanishes." We'll also look at the plane's major weapons systems and learn a little about its history. An ordinary airplane consists of a fuselage (the main body), two wings and three rear stabilizers attached to the tail. The wings generate lift, hoisting the fuselage into the air. The pilot steers the plane by adjusting movable components of the wings and the stabilizers. Adjusting these components changes how the air flows around the plane, causing the plane to ascend, descend and turn. The stabilizers also keep the plane level. (See How Airplanes Work to find out how these components work together.)
The B-2 bomber has a completely different design: It's one big wing, like a boomerang. This flying wing design is much more efficient than a conventional plane. Instead of separate wings supporting all the weight of the fuselage, the entire craft works to generate lift. Eliminating the tail and fuselage also reduces drag -- the total force of air resistance acting on the plane.
Greater efficiency helps the B-2 travel long distances in a short period of time. It's not the fastest craft around -- the military says it's high subsonic, meaning its top speed is just under the speed of sound (around 1,000 ft/sec or 305 m/s) -- but it can go 6,900 miles (11,000 km) without refueling and 11,500 miles (18,500 km) with one in-flight refueling. It can get anywhere on Earth on short notice.
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Composite shot of a model Stealth Fighter (F-117A Nighthawk) flying in an angry sky. Some noise in the sky at 100%. Canon 5D.
During early morning operations, 131st Bomb Wing Missouri Air National Guard maintainers service a B-2 Spirit stealth bomber at Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri.
The United States Air Force's F/A-22 Raptor, which will replace the F-15 bomber and is the first supersonic stealth plane ever created is seen January 15, 2003 in Marietta, Georgia. It is said to be the most advanced plane ever designed and will be fully operational in 2005. Onboard is the new generation of smart computers that have made its advances possible. Whereas, for example, the Saturn V Rocket of 1967 had a computer onboard that ran on sixteen thousand lines of code, the Raptor's computer is programmed with two million lines of code. Because it stores it missiles and fuel inside its body, moreover, it has exceptionally low aerodynamic drag.
Add to this low drag the fact that it is virtually impossible to detect the Raptor by radar until it is too close to fire on, and it is safe to say that the Raptor gives the U.S. dominance in the skies. Each plane has over one million parts and it takes one thousand Lockheed Martin technicians one month to build one in their facilities in Marietta, Georgia. With the Wright Brothers' historic flight celebrating its centennial in 2003, the world is now poised on the threshold of a new age in aviation, one where super-sonic jets refuel in flight, unmanned aerial vehicles track objects with astonishing accuracy, and airliners are maneuvered at times with minimal human participation. The computer age is about to revolutionize aviation and the United States is unquestionably ahead of the curve in this revolution.
A North American B-2 Spirit stealth bomber flying at high altitude.
A Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit stealth bomber 82-1069 Death11, "Spirit Of Indiana" coming in to land At RAF Fairford, Gloucestershire UK on the 06/10/2014. Picture taken using a fisheye lens.
