<p>The B-2 Spirit flying-wing 'Stealth Bomber' was designed to penetrate Soviet air defenses and to attack strategic targets—allegedly including relocatable targets, such as rail-garrisoned ICBMs—with nuclear bombs and stand-off weapons. In the early 1990s, while drastically reducing its overall strength, the USAF continued to assign top priority to fielding 20 B-2s in one bombardment wing.
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<p>The B-2 began as a 'black' program, known in its infancy as Project Senior C. J. and later as the ATB (Advanced Technology Bomber) before ever being acknowledged in public.
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<p>In the early days of the ATB program, many Air Force leaders believed that the service's top priority was the B-1B bomber, also funded during the free-spending Reagan years (1981-89). Only a handful of officials knew of the B-2 project. To them, the B-1B was always perceived as an an 'interim' weapon.
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<p>The B-2 was once scheduled to make its first flight in December 1987. Its existence was publicly disclosed that year and in April 1988 the USAF released an artist's rendering of the B-2 bomber, then nearing completion at Northrop's government-owned Plant 42 in Palmdale, California. The first B-2 (82-1066) was unveiled at Palmdale on 22 November 1988.
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<p>First flight of the number one B-2A (82-1066), known as AV-1 or Air Vehicle One, took place at Palmdale, California, on 17 July 1989 with Northrop's Bruce Hinds and Air Force Colonel Richard S. Cough on board. The second ship flew on 19 October 1990. Test flying to evaluate low observables (LO), or stealth technology, began on 30 October 1990.
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<p>The B-2 is powered by four 19,000-lb (84.52-kN) thrust General Electric F118-GE-110 non-afterburning turbofan engines mounted in pairs inside the wing adjacent to the crew/payload area with both inlets and exhausts atop the aircraft to help to shield them from infra-red detection from below.
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<p>The crew/payload section of the aircraft, which is as close as the B-2 comes to having a fuselage, starts aft of the apex of the wing, ends short of the wing trailing edge, and is smoothly blended on the upper surfaces of the wing. The crew compartment provides side-by-side seating for two crew members, both of whom will be pilots (not navigator or radar-navigator/bombardier) on operational airplanes, seated in Douglas-designed, Weber-built ACES II (Advanced Concept Ejection Seats) which have zero-speed, zero-altitude capability and eject vertically. Plans to include a third crew member have been dropped although a jump seat (non-ejection) is provided for an instructor/observer.
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<p>One strong argument for the B-2 bomber is its flexibility. Unlike an ICBM, the B-2 can be 'flushed'—that is, deployed in an airborne alert pattern or even started towards its target but still able to be recalled. Unlike a submarine-launched ballistic missile, it can be extremely accurate against mobile targets, including Soviet rail-garrison ICBMs.
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<p>USAF officers claim that the B-2's radar-eluding qualities mean that it would not have to quickly dash in and out of enemy airspace like other bombers. Instead, a B-2 could get updates from reconnaissance satellites on positions of mobile targets and avoid being shot down while the two-man crew looked for the targets. To verify targets at the last moment, the B-2 will briefly turn on a special radar that spotlights only a small area, and then attack with nuclear bombs. The B-2 reportedly will be equipped with an electronic warfare system, developed secretly and referred to as the ZSR-2, which emits 'minuscule amounts' when employed to deceive a defensive radar system.
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<p>Even without emitting much electronic energy, the B-2 may not be as stealthy as its supporters assert. The B-2 is difficult to detect—at least, in time for an effective defense—by the high-frequency radars used in fire-control systems today. The USAF claims confidence that the B-2 is equally difficult to detect by lower-frequency, long-range search radars. The question persists as to whether the B-2 is vulnerable to ultra-wide-band radars that may become operational, if technical hurdles can be overcome, by the late 1990s.
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<p>Although it gives the appearance of being relatively small for a strategic warplane with a global mission, the B-2 exceeds the B-52G/H and B-1B in its capacity to carry nuclear ordnance over long distances to reach a defended target. The B-2 will have a range of 5,400 nm (6,214 miles; 10000 km) when carrying a 24,000-lb (10,886-kg) load of up to 16 B61 or B83 bombs on two internally-carried CSRLs (common strategic rotary launchers). A stand-off weapon is also reportedly under development for carriage by the B-2.
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<p>Meanwhile, in a dramatic shift of emphasis, the Air Staff began publicizing the B-2's potential as a conventional bomber, drawing from the Gulf War and the success of the stealthy F-117A over Baghdad. In June 1991, the USAF staged a display of the B-2 for Congressmen (along with the F-117A, YF-22 and AGM-129A) at Andrews AFB, Maryland, and argued that the B-2 could "deliver [a] massive conventional payload to any point on the planet within hours." Briefings indicated that two B-2s (each carrying eight large penetrating weapons) could flatten an Iraqi chemical munitions bunker such as the type which had absorbed 50 F-117A sorties. JDAM and JSOW are two weapons to be integrated with the B-2 to provide a precision conventional capability.
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<p>Just over four years after the B-2A made its maiden flight from Edwards, the process of operational introduction moved a step closer with the formal activation on 27 August 1993 of the first squadron within the 509th Bomb Wing at Whiteman AFB, Missouri. This was the 393rd Bomb Squadron and it duly accepted the first Spirit a few months later, on 17 December 1993. A second example followed on 17 August 1994 and at least one more had joined the unit by the end of that year.
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<p>Under current plans, the USAF expects to acquire just 21 copies of the hugely expensive B-2A, including one permanent test vehicle. The 20 service aircraft will nominally be distributed between two squadrons of the 509th BW, specifically the 393rd BS which already exists and the 715th BS which is to be established at a later date. In fact, only 16 B-2As will be considered operational at any given time, with the remainder constituting a 'reserve' so as to satisfy maintenance and modification requirements. As far as the latter are concerned, these are expected to include initiatives to give enhanced conventional warfare capability and should result in an expanded array of ordnance options.
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<p>The process of working up to attain IOC (initial operating capability) is now a major priority for the 509th BW at Whiteman and is being undertaken against a background of continued testing at Edwards, even though many of the development objectives have been satisfactorily accomplished and demonstrated. At the present time, the IOC is expected to be achieved in late 1995 or early 1996.
