Ultra-long range, stealth, and deadly accuracy make the B-2 Phantom a world-class fighter without any rival combat power. This year marks the 30th anniversary of the B-2's first flight, and Extraterrestrial will use this article as the second in the "Global Power – American Strategic Bomber Force" series to look back at the past of this incredible aircraft while looking ahead to its future.
The B-2 Spectre stealth bomber is the world's first and currently the only stealth bomber
Many people may not imagine that the B-2A Phantom stealth wing bomber has been flying in the sky for 30 years. On July 17, 1989, the company's B-2 chief test pilot and B-2 joint test force commander Colonel took off from the Air Force's 42nd Factory in California to fly av-1 test aircraft (serial number 82-1066) to the vicinity, completing the world's first highly anticipated maiden voyage for stealth bombers.
The Los Angeles Times reported on the front page on August 18, 1989, the first flight of a B-2 bomber the day before
Air Force Plant 42 in Palmdale, California, is also the production plant for the U.S. Air Force's newest B-21 stealth bomber.
The B-2 program has been controversial and has failed to garner enough political support to meet the Air Force's expectations of having 132 aircraft. In the end, only 21 aircraft were built. Today, every aircraft is considered a national treasure of the United States. The Block 10 batches of B-2A initially delivered had limited combat effectiveness and could only use 2,000-pound Mk84 conventional bombs or free-fall nuclear bombs. The B-2A aircraft of the Transitional Block 20 are capable of firing GPS-guided munitions. The Block 30 batch of B-2A aircraft is fully capable and introduces additional radar modes, enhanced terrain tracking capabilities, and the ability to fire more weapons, including the AGM-154.
AGM-154 Joint Out-of-Zone Weapon (JSOW)
With only one aircraft destroyed in an accident in three decades, the B-2 cemented its position as the ultimate symbol of U.S. global air power, capable of striking targets anytime, anywhere, in stealth clothing, when necessary.
The 509th Bombardment Wing in Missouri has been at the center of major post-Cold War U.S. military operations — Kosovo, Afghanistan, Iraq, and, most recently, Libya. In fact, the B-2 bomber was the first aircraft to launch a counterattack over Afghanistan after the 9/11 attacks, and the aircraft and its crew also set a record for the Air Force's longest single combat sortie of 44.3 hours.
The B-2 was the first U.S. military aircraft to fight in Afghanistan after 9/11, with a single flight of more than 44 hours and six in-flight refueling attempts
Colonel, the current commander of the 509th Bombardment Wing, said: "In all these battles, the B-2 is unique in its combination of range, bomb load and stealth. Our opponents don't know when the conflict will escalate and when Whiteman's 509th Wing will be put into combat. ”
<h1>Evolution of the B-2 bomber</h1>
Whiteman Air Force Base, like many other U.S. Air Bases, is home to both the active 509th Bombardment Wing and the Air National Guard Unit, home to the 131st Bombardment Wing from the Missouri Air National Guard. This one-on-one joint cantonment can effectively build up a pool of knowledge and professionals through day-to-day training, maintenance and combat operations. Colonel Schrenal added that the core assets of the stealth bomber force are men and women in uniform (military) and men who do not wear uniforms (civilians). They worked tirelessly, providing unparalleled capabilities with their expertise and dedication to keep the B-2 bombers in their position as a valuable asset for the U.S. military in the days to come.
The emblem of the 509th Bombardment Wing of the United States Air Force
Among the great successes of the B-2 bomber so far, there was also a well-known accident. An airplane, the Kansas Ghost (serial number 89-0127), crashed from Guam on February 23, 2008. In the accident that occurred because heavy rains affected its complex airborne data system, two crew members escaped by ejecting safely.
The Kansas Ghost crashed during takeoff from Anderson Air Force Base in Guam
Since its commissioning, the remaining 19 combat aircraft and one test aircraft have undergone numerous upgrades. Recent projects have added new weapons, new communications capabilities, improved self-protection capabilities, and upgraded radar systems to the B-2A.
Flight tests of the new radar were first conducted by the B-2A test aircraft (AV-3) at Edwards Air Force Base in California in April 2006. In June of that year, the first phase of flight tests was completed. In 2008, the U.S. Air Force successfully conducted an operational assessment of the new radar at Edwards Air Force Base. Subsequently, it awarded Northrop Grumman Integrated Systems a $468 million production contract. On October 16, 2009, after a phase of inspection, Northrop Grumman passed project Milestone C and was approved to produce the AN/APQ-181 radar at full speed. The LRIP phase of the radar was installed from mid-2010 and became fully operational in 2011, with all RMP radars installed by 2012.
The AN/APQ-181 radar, a product of the B-2 bomber radar modernization project
The flight management system upgrade has increased processor throughput, memory capacity, and network transfer speed by more than a thousand times, and the autopilot program has been rewritten. The final installation of the B-2 Flight Management Control Processor upgrade (also known as "UHF, Increment 1") was completed in August 2016. It allows B-2 crews to fire weapons more efficiently, reducing the risk of being threatened. The upgrade involved redeploying the flight management control processor (the B-2's internal brain) into a more powerful integrated processing unit.
According to the U.S. Air Force, there is currently a series of new upgrades waiting. These upgrades will ensure that the B-2A can "pour devastating firepower at the most heavily defended targets." At the heart of this is the new B-61 Mod 12 (B61-12) ground-penetrating nuclear bomb. The B61-12 is expected to enter service in the near future. It combines several different types of attack options, from ground drilling to airburst, into one weapon, increasing the range of targets for strikes.
The B61-12 nuclear bomb can freely set the explosive yield of 5,000/10,000/50,000 tons of TNT, and can choose to explode by air/ground/underground
The existing B-2's interior bomb rack assembly has been modified to allow the aircraft to carry up to 80 GPS-guided, independently targeted 500-pound GBU-38 JDAM bombs. Subsequent upgrades will allow up to four 5,000-pound GBU-28 Bunker Destroyer bombs to be mounted in one bomb bay and up to 40 GBU-38 bombs to be carried in the second bomb bay.
GBU-38 "Jadam JDAM" GPS-guided bomb
A new bomb rack, commissioned in 2007, can carry the 30,000-pound GBU-57A/B. In late 2011, the Air Force completed the "bomb-plane integration" of the B-2 and MOP, meaning it could drop two of these giant conventional ground-penetrating bombs. The 72nd Test and Evaluation Squadron and the 509th Bomber carried out the first-ever B-2 three-plane formation to drop the GBU-57A/B on June 6, 2016.
B-2 bombers dropped MOP high-yield conventional ground-penetrating bombs
In 2013, the U.S. Air Force began planning to equip the B-2 bomber with a new nuclear cruise missile that was still in the early stages of development. The new weapons will be used to replace the AGM-86B, which is also planned to be carried by the B-52H and B-21. In total, between 1,000 and 1,100 new cruise missiles will be produced, designed to maintain the U.S. Air Force's out-of-zone nuclear strike capability.
Long-range out-of-zone (LRSO) cruise missiles
<h1>DMS-M upgrade</h1>
In addition to this, there is a new avionics and aiming kit called "", which is expected to achieve initial combat capabilities in mid-2022. Designed to detect signals from ground air defense systems, the DMS-M is believed to be the largest modification the B-2 has ever attempted. It replaced existing DMSs to ensure that the B-2 was able to resist state-of-the-art air defense systems.
Among the improvements, the B-2 bomber will acquire new antennas and modern display processing units with advanced digital countermeasures upgrades, and improve its threat warning system to improve the detection, identification and avoidance capabilities of threat radars. The B-2A Operational Test and Evaluation Supervisor approved the DMS-M Milestone B's Overall Plan for Testing and Evaluation in October 2015.
Miniature GPS airborne receiver, MAGR
In December 2017, Raytheon announced that initial testing of the prototype had been completed. This is an open architecture system using a GPS computer card that comes with 12 channels and 24 channels. The integrated M-code receiver will give the aircraft access to a modern and upgraded GPS network. Production products are expected to be installed on B-2 bombers between 2019 and 2020.
<h1>Global strike force</h1>
The B-2's range and stealth characteristics mean it can quietly reach anywhere in the world to deliver a fierce precision strike. On March 19, 2011, three B-2As crossed the Atlantic Ocean in the dead of night, firing the first shots of NATO's air combat operation to overthrow the Libyan regime, the "Dawn of the Odyssey.". The Ghosts set off directly from Whiteman's base, backed by six KC-135R tankers, and attacked a reinforced aircraft bunker at a nearby airport. That night, the B-2 threw 40 JDAM at the Su-24 Fencer fighter attack aircraft base in Libya. This mission of penetrating deep into an active integrated air defense network became a key capability of the B-2 bomber.
NATO's "Odyssey Dawn" operation aimed at overthrowing the Gaddafi regime
Six years later, on January 18, 2017, B-2 aircraft returned over Libya and attacked positions in a remote desert 45 kilometers southwest of Sirte. While four B-2As flew to the rest of the target, only two made ground attacks, dropping about 108 JDAM at four desert camps. The 34-hour mission is a classic case of the B-2's valuable value in U.S. Air Force weapons. Originally designed to break through soviet air defenses from low altitudes, this stealth bomber, with the help of tankers, could fly anywhere on Earth in 48 hours. The B-2 can fly more than 11,000 kilometers without refueling, while it can fly 18,520 kilometers with just one aerial refueling. However, this also poses a challenge for the two-man flight crew. They are trained to be alert during critical phases of flight while being able to nap at low intensity.
The straight-line distance from Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri to Libya is 9135 kilometers
In theaters such as the Pacific, the B-2 bomber is an important part of the U.S. Strategic Command bomber task force. It regularly travels through the Indo-Pacific region to integrate capabilities with key partners in the region and maintain a high level of training for the crew. Lt. Col. Commander of the 393rd Bombardment Squadron said: "This training is critical to maintaining our interoperability in the region. It gives us the opportunity to conduct joint exercises with our allies and validates our ready-to-go global strike capabilities! ”
The emblem of the 393rd Bombardment Squadron
The U.S. Commander-in-Chief Air Force Strategic Plan, developed on July 31, 2019, reads:
"Following the U.S. long-standing focus on counterterrorism operations, the return of great power competition, as outlined in the 2018 National Defense Strategy, requires the ACGSC to adapt its way of working to simultaneously focus on mission execution, preparation, and modernization. At present, the possibility of conflict between major powers has reached its highest point since the end of the cold war. With the application of modernization capabilities, this conflict is full of significant new characteristics and new changes. The long-range precision nuclear attack and conventional strike capabilities possessed by the Global Strike Command's intercontinental ballistic missile and manned bomber forces, supported by sound command and control, strong maintenance and security assurances, will play a central role in all phases of competition and conflict, whether it is to maintain stability when tensions increase or to impose our will on our opponents by force in armed conflict. In light of this, we will build one of the most respected and awe-inspiring long-range precision firepower forces in the world, ready to respond worldwide, through the pursuit of exceptional competence, appropriate attention and investment in teams and personnel. This force will steadily improve its combat readiness in the near future, while continuing to modernize and improve to become the force most needed by our country. ”
U.S. Air Force Global Strike Command insignia
Under the new plan, it appears that the U.S. Air Force will retire its entire Phantom fleet in favor of a new type of B-21 Raider bomber. Although, the B-2's initial service plan extends to 2058, under the new Bomber Formation program, the B-2 may begin to retire in 2032.
The B-2 stealth bomber will be replaced by the B-21 Raider
The Phantom bomber has been involved in a series of other conventional combat missions around the world while always playing the role of the strategic "silver bomb" of strategic nuclear deterrence. But the B-2 is known for its high maintenance costs, and in recent days has been plagued by the lack of spare parts for its outdated system. The new B-21 Raider is designed to address these issues by leveraging off-the-shelf commercial technology rather than using a custom system like the B-2.
The B-21 stealth bomber will be the B-2's successor
There is no doubt that this stealthy global strike bomber redefined modern air power. It became the cornerstone of a consistently forward-looking U.S. Air Force, while serving as a major deterrent to the future, ensuring long-term strategic implementation.
The 30th anniversary of the first flight of the B-2A bomber