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B-2 Spirit

The B-2 "Spirit" is the world's ultimate bomber. It is the first bomber to adopt stealth technology thus giving it the edge over almost all the air defence systems in the world. The B-2 has seen combat in Yugoslavia and in Afghanistan. So far the B-2 has performed excellently and has outperformed the F-117. With a greater payload, range and survivability, the B-2 has clearly developed an edge over the F-117. With its unique design, the B-2 is very easy to identify.

Even thought the B-2 is a technological marvel, is still a great problem, which it faces. The B-2's cost of equal to its weight in gold. The price tag of the B-2 is a staggering $2Billion. There has been a serious decrease in the number of B-2s in the USAF due to cuts in defence budget.

The B-2 was first delivered to the USAF's Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri in December 1993. Till date the B-2 has reported a 90% sortie reliability rate. During the Yugoslavian conflict, the Foreign Military review and the Yugoslavian Military reported a B-2 was shot down by Yugoslavian air defence units. This report is unconfirmed, as there is no evidence that such an incident has occurred.

History of Developement

The flying wing design of the B-2 dated back to the last years of the Second World War. The founder of Northrop developed the design. The experimental design was first fitted with four propellers first in a pusher plane configuration and then they were replaced with Jet engines. Though the programme was supposed to be a generation leap for the Bombers of yesteryears, it was rejected by the US Administration. Later the programme was revived and then came the B-2 stealth bomber.

Design

The most unique feature of the B-2 bomber is its design. The "Flying Wing" or the "Bat wing" design gives the B-2 exceptional capabilities. The B-2 has no specific fuselage like in ordinary aircraft. The entire plane is a solid structure, which behaves as a wing. The B-2 is also designed to be stealthy. This means that the B-2 is only detectable by radar only at a very short range. This is possible due to the design of the B-2 and the composite material, which it is made of. The B-2 has been designed in such a way that the incoming radar waves are deflected into another direction or absorbed by the composite material on the skin of the B-2. The B-2 is not only invisible to radar but also to IR (infrared) detection systems. This is because the engines of the B-2 are placed deep within the fuselage and the exhaust gases are cooled after combustion. Thus due to the following factors the B-2 has a low IR and Radar cross-section.

Engine

The B-2's four F118-GE-100 turbofan engines lets out a total thrust of 77kN providing a high sub sonic speed and payload capacity. The engines exhaust of the B-2 is cooled to a limit thus giving a low IR signature to the aircraft. This is a remarkable achievement for stealth technology, as it was thought to be impossible at one time. The B-2 is also equipped with an in-flight refuelling system, which gives it a very long operational range.

Cockpit

The B-2 has some of the best on-board systems which America and the world can offer. Nothing much has been revealed about the onboard systems of the B-2, but its deadly accuracy and high success rate clearly states that it is one of the best in the world. The cockpit contains MFDs and other flight information output systems, has real time satellite link and also computers onboard to monitor each and every functions in real time.

Crew

The crew of the B-2 consists of two. Due to the sheer duration of each mission, the crew take turns in controlling the aircraft. This is because some missions last entire days and in most cases the crew has to circle the globe. This is in account of the recent conflicts in Yugoslavia and Afghanistan.

Weapons

The B-2 only carries air-to-ground weapons. The payload of the B-2 is 40,000lb (18,000 kg). It is able to carry a huge array of air to ground weapons from missiles to bombs. The most common weapon used by the B-2 is the so-called "Smart Bomb". Another devastating weapon carried by this aircraft is the much-feared Tomahawk cruise missile. It also carried gravity bombs and other maritime weapons. Though these weapons are carried by the B-2, the primary aim behind creating the B-2 is to use it as a nuclear delivery system.

The weapons carried by the B-2 include Bombs like Mk-82, Mk-84, CBU-87, etc. Missiles like AGM-129 and smart weapons like JDAM, JSOWM, JASSM, and WCMD.

Countermeasures

As the B-2 relies heavily on stealth, it has a countermeasure system which protects it if it is spotted and attacked by the enemy. This include defensive systems developed by Northrop Grumman and Lockheed Martin.

Radar

The B-2 carries an AN/APQ-181 J-band radar. This is multipurpose radar having different modes including terrain avoidance and terrain following.

Technical Specifications
Length	69ft, 21.03m
Height	17ft, 5.18m
Wingspan	172ft, 52.42m
Height	34 ft
Payload	477,000lbs
Top Speed	331 m/s
Service Ceiling	50,000 ft, 15,240m
Range	6,000 nautical miles