Wild Blue Yonder 1: 50 Years of Gs & Jets/Wild Blue Yonder - Episode 1 - 50 Years of Gs and Jets (Digital Ranch) (Spectrum Holobyte)(1-107-40-101)(1994).iso/control/printext.dir/00142_Field_142.txt

Text File | 1994-08-29 | 2KB | 31 lines

A B-2 Bargain?


Depending upon the quantity of bombers purchased, the cost could
escalate to $1.75 billion a piece, making the B-2 unquestionably
the single most expensive weapon in history.  In the past, weapon
systems like the B-52 and F-117 have been attacked for their
cost, yet both of these planes proved to be good values.
Probably only twenty B-2s will be built -- an imprudent amount
when combat comes.  When one considers losses due to attrition,
age, and maintenance difficulties, buying only twenty aircraft
may prove to be misguided economy.

General Charles Horner, who led Coalition Forces during Operation
Desert Storm, testified before Congress:  "The B-2 can carry ten
times the load of an F-117 at five times the unrefueled range.
Put another way, the B-2 combines the range and payload of the
B-52 with the advantages of the Stealth F-117 that proved so
valuable in Desert Storm.  Would I have used a B-2 in Desert
Storm?  You bet I would."

The B-2's technology is extremely advanced in every area.  While
its ultimate role is that of a nuclear bomber, it is also adapted
to carry conventional bombs and fight conventional wars.  So
capable is the B-2 in this capacity that studies have been
conducted which have caused the U.S. Navy extreme discomfort.
These reports reveal that a fleet of B-2s has the capacity to
undertake "show-the-flag" exercises and deep penetrations, at a
far lower cost than an aircraft carrier.  In other words, the B-2
may be so effective a weapon that it could conceivably replace
the aircraft carrier.