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Why Just One B-2 Stealth Bomber Is As Powerful As An Aircraft Carrier
“The B-2 saw its first operational use during Operation Allied Force,” aircraft manufacturer Northrop Grumman writes on its website.
The B-2 Stealth Bomber Is One Amazing Weapon of War: According to aerospace and defense company Northrop Grumman, the United States Air Force’s “B-2 stealth bomber is a key component of the nation’s long-range strike arsenal, and one of the most survivable aircraft in the world. Its unique stealth characteristics allow it to penetrate the most sophisticated enemy defenses.”
This aircraft indeed possesses remarkable stealth capabilities, but what about its firepower? Know that it was on full display when B-2 stealth bombers forged an attack on Serbia during the opening night of Operation Allied Force in 1999. It was also able to destroy Iraqi air defenses during 2003’s “Shock and Awe” and took out the Libyan fighter force in 2011.
“The B-2 saw its first operational use during Operation Allied Force,” aircraft manufacturer Northrop Grumman writes on its website.
“Two B-2s flew more than thirty-one hours from Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri to Kosovo. They attacked multiple targets, then flew directly back. The B-2s flew less than 1 percent of the total missions, yet destroyed 33 percent of the targets during the first eight weeks of conflict,” it continues.
Do take note that the B-2 also holds the record for the longest air combat mission in history.
“In 2001, the Spirit of America and five other B-2s were the first to enter Afghan airspace for a record setting forty-four-hour mission,” Northrop Grumman writes.
“The aircraft’s performance is even more impressive in that the B-2 made a quick pit stop for a forty-five-minute crew and service change with engines still running. It then flew back to Missouri for another thirty-hour flight for a total of more than seventy consecutive hours,” it adds.
Despite flying these grueling missions, pilots do not have a bed or even a refrigerator. There are just two seats in a cockpit and a small area behind them that is about the width of a seat.
“Sometimes we can bring a little blow-up mattress, put in on the floor and take a nap,” Lt. Col. Nicola Polidor, Commander of Detachment 5 of the 29th Training Systems Squadron, told Warrior in an interview.
“It’s about big enough for someone who is five feet eight but not big enough for taller people,” she added.
Lt. Gen. David Deptula (Ret.), who participated in the planning and preparation for Operation Iraqi Freedom, told Warrior about the warzone importance of an aircraft like the B-2 bomber.
“The B-2 is one of the most game-changing aircraft ever built … and one of the most cost-effective,” he said.
“One B-2 can deliver the punch of an entire aircraft carrier air wing at several orders of magnitude less in operating cost and personnel,” he continued.
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