Top Secret: Inside The United States Air Force's B-2 Spirit Bomber

The B-2 ‘Spirit’ is among the central assets in the nuclear triad of the US nuclear defense as well as the US Armed Forces’ conventional strike forces. This strategic power is vital in preventing unstable or hostile adversaries from undertaking openly hostile actions, as the threat of retaliation by the B-2, and its nuclear weapons, is always present.

The B-2’s nuclear weapons capability, combined with its stealth and intercontinental range, makes it a virtually unrivaled weapon that the US Air Force can send to respond to any threat around the globe. While Lockheed Martin’s previous stealth attack jet, the F-117 Nighthawk, suffered combat losses flying strike missions at low-level in combat, the B-2 has never been scathed by an enemy weapon or even detected by one.

Unflyable For A Mere Mortal

Photo: US Air Force

The B-2 was made as the distinct flying wing, a design that had never successfully taken flight with any reasonable success before the Spirit. The stealth-optimized bomber depends on advanced automation to allow its tiny crew to not only complete extended missions but also simply fly. The 172-foot wingspan bomber remains one of the most exotic aircraft ever made to date and can only be flown with computer aids.

Pilot seats in the aircraft are side by side, facing a minimalistic panel of displays and controls in front of them. Screens replace hundreds of buttons, like on older planes like the Boeing B-52 Stratofortress. The central interface is the Vertical Situation Display (VSD), which provides the pilot with essential, baseline flying data, including altitude, speed, direction, and attitude. Next is the Horizontal Situation Display (HSD), which provides mission data, nearby aircraft positions, and flight path data.

The control systems receive iterative updates from the “Spirit Realm,” which is a software factory managed by the Weapons Systems Support Center of the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center. Software upgrades keep the Spirit safe to fly as well as keep it at the bleeding edge of weapons technology. The Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA), data networks, communication systems, and fly-by-wire avionics are equally important to the overall mission success of any Spirit sortie as the radar absorbent paint on the outside is.

The B-2 By The Numbers

Photo: US Air Force

The Northrop Grumman B-2 requires only two pilots to fly. On the other hand, the Boeing B-52 Stratofortress and the Rockwell B-1 Lancer require a complement of four or five aircrew. The incredible computing power contained inside the USAF’s flying wing is responsible for the minimal crew.

The flight deck is also relatively simple as a byproduct, featuring glass display screens and simple button interfaces, as the computers do most of the work while the pilots can focus on their mission plan and the environment outside the cockpit. Below is an outline of the B-2 Spirit by key specifications, as described by the USAF:

Photo: US Air Force

The advanced flight control systems (FCS) allow one crew member to sleep on the fold-out bunk behind the flight deck while the other flies transit legs. The B-2 is equipped with a tiny chemical toilet and a shoebox-sized microwave, as crews routinely fly over 30-hour missions. Without the essentials of life for its pilots, the Spirit’s extreme range would be pointless.

The First Fifth-Generation Bomber

Photo: US Air Force

The key to the design and mission of the B-2 is its unmatched radar-avoiding design. The Spirit was meticulously engineered, building upon decades of research by the top minds in American aerospace to culminate in a groundbreaking flying wing. To make the first true stealth bomber in the world, the B-2 program was responsible for the invention of numerous technological innovations. All of which are highly classified and contributed to achieving what was thought to be impossible.

Photo: US Air Force

Jack Northrop pursued the dream of a flying wing for most of his career as an aerospace engineer and founder of the Northrop Aircraft Company. Just before he passed away, he was able to see his dream come true. As Air & Space Forces magazine reported, Northrop witnessed the first airframe under assembly. Eyes brimming with tears, Northrop reportedly said:

“Now I know why God has kept me alive for the last 25 years.”

The B-2 airframe is made of unique composites, and the entire outer skin of the huge jet is coated in radar-absorbent material (RAM). Its cockpit glass is coated in special treatments to deflect radar, and the engines have been designed with recessed inlets and exhaust. That optimizes thermal suppression and electromagnetic (EM) containment as well, mitigating the heat signature and radio waves from the B-2.

Invisible Specter In The Skies

Photo: US Air Force

The mighty Spirit is famed within the US military aviation community for flying the longest mission times of any platform in the US inventory. The aircraft has virtually unlimited range thanks to its ability to refuel in flight, meaning the only real limit is the endurance of the human aircrew at the controls. The unrefueled range of the B-2 Spirit is approximately 6,000 NM (9,600 km), which Northrop Grumman says extends to 10,000 NM (18,520 km) with just one aerial refueling rendezvous.

There are very few airfields where the B-2 may land since it is one of the most heavily guarded pieces of military equipment in the United States. The only locations outside of the continental United States (CONUS) where it is ever seen are the US commonwealth of Guam, which is home to Andersen AFB, and the isolated island of Diego Garcia, which is a part of the United Kingdom.

Photo: US Air Force

In the opening salvos of Operation Enduring Freedom in 2001, the Spirit of America undertook a 44-hour mission in response to the 9/11 attacks. As a special story by the USO recounts, two other B-2s flew similar sorties at the same time, taking off from Whiteman Air Force Base (AFB) in Missouri and landing on the tiny island of Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean. To keep the pilots going on some of the most prolonged airborne missions in military history, the flight deck of the B-2 includes basic amenities like a fold-away bed, microwave, and toilet.

Airpower, Anywhere, Anytime

Photo: US Air Force

Originally intended as a nuclear deterrent, the B-2 Spirit was created to counter the Soviet Union’s threat in accordance with the Cold War policy of Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD). The primary function of the B-2 was relegated to a secondary duty with the sudden collapse of the adversary and the conclusion of the weapons race. But its 60,000-pound payload capacity remained unchanged. Additionally, the B-2 is the only stealth aircraft that can carry standoff cruise missiles at great range in an internal weapons compartment.

Photo: US Air Force

The B-2’s magazine options includes all of the following, according to the Air & Space Forces Magazine:

To preserve the aircraft’s stealth profile, the B-2’s interior weapons compartment is outfitted with unique rotating launchers that store all of its bombs within. As requirements change during a mission, the rotary launchers also enable the aircraft to carry a variety of ordnance and choose the appropriate munition for the task.

The Penultimate Bomber And More

Photo: US Air Force

All airborne platforms play a crucial role in information, surveillance, and reconnaissance, or ISR, on the battlefield. Stealth aircraft are unique in that they can travel where other aircraft cannot and return vital intelligence that might make the difference between life and death on the battlefield. Due to the ability to observe other forces while remaining undetected, intelligence may be obtained from any activity.

The Northrop Grumman B-21 Raider is set to take that multi-mission, flexible configuration to an even greater extent as it is anticipated to be an optionally manned aircraft. The possibility of losing aircrews in battle is a significant risk planning consideration for Air Force operations, in addition to the danger of losing valuable aircraft and defense equipment. More mission flexibility than ever before is made possible by the B-21’s ability to enter disputed airspace without endangering human life.

Photo: US Air Force

One of the reasons the B-2 flies such long missions is to support boots on the ground by loitering over the fighting zone until the command for ordnance is given. During that time, the invisible Spirit may assist other troops and gather intelligence in addition to employing kinetic strikes. Combat commanders greatly benefit from this instrument, which not only gives them access to critical intelligence but also allows them to direct warheads at targets while the aircraft and its crew are orbiting overhead.