B-2 Bomber Facts Interesting & Surprising Details | B-2 Spirit In Action | B-2 Stealth Bomber

Описание: B-2 Bomber Facts Interesting & Surprising Details | B-2 Spirit In Action | B-2 Stealth Bomber - B-2 Spirit, also known as the Stealth Bomber, is an American heavy strategic bomber, featuring low observable stealth technology designed for penetrating dense anti-aircraft defenses; it is a flying wing design with a crew of two.

The bomber can deploy both conventional and thermonuclear weapons, such as eighty 500-pound class (230 kg) Mk 82 JDAM Global Positioning System-guided bombs, or sixteen 2,400-pound (1,100 kg) B83 nuclear bombs. The B-2 is the only acknowledged aircraft that can carry large air-to-surface standoff weapons in a stealth configuration.

In this video US Military News & Videos show about B-2 Bomber Facts:

With only 21 B-2 Spirits produced, the air crews that work on them get to know individual aircraft very well. As it turns out, this highly complex aircraft is a colorful bird. Each individual B-2 Spirit has its own distinct personality, and its own unique maintenance needs.
This comes as a surprise when one considers the precision engineering and the uniform use and maintenance needs. This leads to some colorful moments. Interestingly enough the pilots tend to view the aircraft as uniform, avoiding personal favorites.

Bombers are almost always designed with range in mind, but the unique design of the B-2 Spirit lends itself to extreme long range operations. Without refuel, the B-2 Spirit has a range of over 6,000 miles. However with refuel, that range can be extended nearly indefinitely. As it stands, from its three principle bases, the B-2 Spirit can reach any inhabited point on the planet with minimal support. This gives the US Air Force an unrivaled ability to deliver a payload—conventional or nuclear—to any point the mission might require.

Stealth aircraft rely on a lot of things: proper shape and profile, electronic countermeasures, the training of the pilots and crew. However, the material component of the stealth factor is often overlooked. With very little sheet metal in the skin of the aircraft, the B-2 relies on a mix of over 200 chemicals, sheets of composite material, and high tech paints. Any gaps are filled with an expansive foam made from a classified formula. The exact composition is a carefully guarded secret, and one that changes frequently.

The world of military aviation is constantly evolving, and some of the world’s emerging powers, including China and Russia, are on a quest to develop their own stealth aircraft. Likewise, they constantly seek to negate the US’s advantage in stealth technology. As their abilities develop, US intelligence gathers more information about what they’re up to. That data is then fed to maintenance crews working on the B-2 Spirit. Those crews in turn adapt the material composition of the B-2’s anti-stealth coating to counter enemy capabilities. It’s an ongoing mission, one that will likely last the lifespan of the B-2 Spirit.

Most military aircraft are difficult to fly. And the more advanced the aircraft, the trickier they are to keep in the air. And while US pilots train hard, accidents do happen. In keeping with the B-2’s unique design and mission, it has had a unique set of accidents.
In 2008, the Spirit of Kansas crashed during a routine takeoff from Andersen Air Force Base in Guam. The crew ejected safely, but the aircraft was nearly destroyed. After a strenuous investigation, the US Air Force found that a freak instance of moisture buildup was to blame. With a little redesign, the B-2 fleet quickly returned to duty.

A complex series of intelligence failures and miscommunication lead to an international incident resulting from a B-2 Spirit mission – one of the crazier B-2 bomber facts. During a bombing run over Kosovo, a B-2 Spirit accidentally bombed the Chinese Embassy. Several staff members were killed, and the incident became a major diplomatic incident between the US and China. This, for good or ill, put a lot of focus on US stealth capabilities and the B-2 Spirit in particular.

The nature of the US nuclear weapons stockpile has changed over the years, and the organization of the B-2 Spirit fleet along with it. Following a string of incidents in which nuclear weapons were mishandled, the US Air Force launched a comprehensive organizational overhaul in 2012. This included reassigning the B-2 Spirit fleet to the control of the newly formed Global Strike Command, the central authority managing US nuclear weapons. While this had little effect on day to day operations, it made for vast changes in the way the B-2 Spirit was deployed around the globe.

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