Unexpectedly, the super baby of the United States, the B-2 stealth bomber, suffered the fate of "turning waste into iron"! This is not a trivial matter, an aircraft worth 2.4 billion US dollars was decided not to be repaired because of the high maintenance cost and technical difficulty! As soon as this news came out, the US military was in a hurry, because after all, this kind of plane is not something that can be seen casually on the street.
I remember that at the end of last year, on a cold morning in December 2022, thick smoke suddenly rose over Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri, USA. It turned out that a B-2 stealth bomber accidentally "played with fire and set itself on fire" when landing. Although from the outside, this B-2 is still a whole plane, far from being burned into a skeleton, which makes the US military secretly give some hope in their hearts, after all, this thing is more expensive than the same weight of gold.
This plane is not an ordinary iron bump, it is the pearl in the eyes of the Pentagon - the B-2 "Phantom" stealth bomber. Immediately after this accident, the US military grounded all B-2s and began to investigate with great fanfare. For six whole months, these top planes did not fly, and you can imagine what a blow this is for the US military.
But the turning point of the matter was that when Pentagon officials calculated the cost and time of repairing this B-2, they were directly dumbfounded. Let's do the math, a B-2 caught fire in Guam in 2008, and it cost $105 million to repair it, which took a lot of time. Although it doesn't look serious this time, don't forget the stealth materials and special design of this aircraft, which is super sensitive to the environment, and a small injury can be a major operation.
In addition, just a year before the accident, in 2021, another B-2 had a similar condition, which cost at least $10.1 million to repair. It can be seen that the money for repairing the plane is really not built, and you can almost buy a few new ones.
Of course, the Pentagon is not brainless, and after weighing the value of this B-2 and its future combat effectiveness, they made a difficult decision - not to repair it! Yes, you heard it right, it's just not repaired! They felt that instead of spending so much money on an old plane, they would spend their resources on the upcoming new star, the B-21 stealth bomber. It is said that the new B-21 is not only cheaper (no more than $600 million per unit), but also has better performance and can fight more beautifully in future air battles.
As soon as this decision came out, it can be said that it caused a lot of fluctuations. After all, this is a $2.4 billion B-2, which is indeed a bit unacceptable. But the Pentagon people are also hard-hearted, and they feel that keeping a high-maintenance B-2 in the context of the B-21 is about to enter service is obviously not in line with their long-term plans.
As soon as this decision was announced, it immediately caused a heated discussion among military observers and aviation enthusiasts. Some argue that this is a wise decision, as investments should be placed in more promising technologies. Some people feel that this is a waste of taxpayers' money, and it is really distressing that an aircraft worth 2.4 billion has become scrap metal. And for those military fans who have been following the B-2 bomber, this is undoubtedly an emotional blow, and some of them have even launched a petition on the Internet to reconsider this decision.
But the reality is harsh, and Pentagon policymakers are clearly ready to look forward. With the gradual entry into service of the B-21, they hope to be better able to deal with various threats that may arise in the future. Behind this decision, it also reflects a shift in a country's military strategy from relying on a single high-value asset to the deployment of new, more diverse and cost-effective weapons systems.
Returning to the issue of the B-2, although the decision has been made, it is actually a sad and challenging time for the staff at Whiteman Air Force Base. Many of them have worked with these B-2 Phantom stealth bombers for many years and have a deep affection. These people, whose day-to-day work includes maintaining, inspecting and securing the combat readiness of these aircraft, can now see the complexity of witnessing one of them being marked as "no longer flying".
But time will not stop because of the emotions of individuals or small groups, and the upgrading of military equipment is a reality that any major country must face. The decision-makers of the US Air Force may have foreseen this day, but for the majority of military enthusiasts and ordinary people, this matter is undoubtedly a major news topic. Especially on the Internet, this matter quickly became the focus of heated discussions.
Various opinions and opinions are confronted on the Internet, some for support, some against, some rational analysis, and some emotional catharsis. But in any case, this has happened, the fate of the B-2 is already sealed, and we can only wait and see how this drama about how the future combat power will be deployed will continue to play out.