Northrop Grumman B-2A Spirit

TomS said:
Josh_TN said:
I notice that document does explicitly list GBU-39 as integrated on the B-2; pertinent to is it integrated/is current only planned to be integrated discussion.
Click to expand...

Sure, but contra that:

www.af.mil

GBU-39B Small Diameter Bomb Weapon System

The GBU-39B Small Diameter Bomb, or SDB, is an extended range all-weather, day or night 250-pound class, guided munition. The SDB relies on the Global Positioning System to provide navigation to the
www.af.mil

The F-15E Strike Eagle is currently the only aircraft outfitted with the SDB weapon system. Future platforms include the F-16 Fighting Falcon, F-117, B-1 Lancer, B-2 Spirit, F-22 Raptor and F-35 Lightning II.
Click to expand...

Now, that's at least somewhat out of date (F-22 and F-35 have been cleared, I think), but it's not resounding endorsement of the idea that the B-2 can carry SDB-I.

And after some digging around on Twitter, I found a ref that sounds like he knows what he's talking about. (Usual caveats for Twitter reliability, etc. But poking at his blog, he mentions having worked on the B-2's Smart Bomb Rack and JDAM integration for the RLA, so I suspect he's legit.)

https://twitter.com/x/status/1511547774361341953
View: https://twitter.com/SMSgt_Mac/status/1511547774361341953
Click to expand...

Depressing if true, and it sounds like something USAF would do.
 
X-39 said:
This increase in mishaps is becoming particularly worrying...

B-2 Stealth Bomber Damaged During Emergency Landing​

by Tyler Rogoway
Dec 10, 2022 9:18 PM
Click to expand...
A B-2A Spirit stealth bomber experienced an in-flight emergency that resulting in an emergency landing that sparked a fire and damaged the aircraft. The incident occurred at Whiteman AFB in Missouri, where the fleet of just 20 B-2s in existence is primarily based.
Click to expand...
The War Zone reached out to the 509th Bomb Wing public affairs for comment and they promptly responded with this description of the event:
Click to expand...
"A U.S. Air Force B-2 Spirit experienced an in-flight malfunction during routine operations today and was damaged on the runway at Whiteman Air Force Base after it successfully completed an emergency landing. There were no personnel injuries. There was a fire associated with the aircraft after landing, and the base fire department extinguished the fire. The incident is under investigation."
Click to expand...
www.thedrive.com

B-2 Stealth Bomber Damaged During Emergency Landing

A B-2 Spirit stealth bomber was damaged at Whiteman AFB after an emergency landing, which included a fire.
www.thedrive.com www.thedrive.com
Click to expand...
Was fiddling around Whitman AFB in Google Maps, looking for B-2s when I saw this. After looking it up, that's definitely the Bomber in question.

Image is dated 2023
1674608365359.png
 
An old story (that some not heard) of flying wings, flies and professors.
 

Attachments

  • StealthBomber.pdf
    1,007 KB · Views: 55
flateric said:
An old story (that some not heard) of flying wings, flies and professors.
Click to expand...
Yes... and considering that the article was written before the B-2 even started its flight testing, the actual performance of the B-2 is much more compelling and pertinent than arguments over reports that may have been botched back in the late 1940s.

Resolution of the Foa-Sears debate awaits
the B-2 flight test program, which has yet to
record its first hop, though the bomber was
rolled out last November.
Click to expand...

Rollout was Nov. 1988.
First public flight was July 1989.
 
MagRAM to replace RAM coating tapes. New flight planning mission software (shared with B-21):

www.flightglobal.com

Northrop plans wide-ranging B-2 upgrades, including new anti-radar coating by year-end

The manufacturer of the iconic flying wing stealth bomber is undertaking a series of modernisations that will make the notoriously difficult-to-maintain B-2 easier to keep flightworthy, more lethal and compatible with the next-generation B-21 Raider stealth bomber.
www.flightglobal.com www.flightglobal.com
 
Scott Kenny said:
Gotta love a good Elephant Walk!

Anyone want to bet that it's only 11 birds because that's all that were airworthy at the time?
Click to expand...

Honestly shocking that 11 could be mission capable all at once (another source stated 12).
 
sferrin said:
The ONLY bucket of wings.
Click to expand...

It is basically a special operations force incapable of sustained bombardment. That said, it is a unique capability, and the B-21s will make a more mainstream form of offensive AirPower.
 
Josh_TN said:
It is basically a special operations force incapable of sustained bombardment. That said, it is a unique capability, and the B-21s will make a more mainstream form of offensive AirPower.
Click to expand...
It's a SAC bomber. Sustained bombardment wasn't part of the remit. It was supposed to sit on alert, take off with a load of ACMs, meet with a tanker over Canada, and light up the Soviet Union with nukes. Fifty hour missions to do CAS over Afghanistan are way outside the design concept.

Frankly I think the B-2 should be kept, transferred to STRATCOM permanently, loaded up with nukes and tasked with their original job, sitting on nuclear alert.
 

Similar threads

Back
Top Bottom