The Northrop B-2 Spirit is a long-range, strategic bomber in service with the US Air Force since 1997. Together with the B-1, this stealth aircraft forms the backbone of the United States deterrence strategic force. It is based on the experimental, boomerang-shaped XB-35 piston-engine bomber of the late 1940s. The B-2 has the dark mission of flying over enemy territory in an atomic war. Long kept under a cloak of secrecy, it is out in the open today, known to the public. As of June 2025, it might be used to carry out a bombing mission to strike targets in Iran to destroy its nuclear enrichment plants.
The first B-2 Spirit prototype, the AV-1 (82-1066), performed its maiden flight on July 17, 1989. The second prototype, the AV-2 (82-1067), flew from Palmdale to Edwards airbase, California, on October 19, 1990, while the third one, the AV-3 (82-1068), did likewise on June 18, 1991. By the time the first aircraft was delivered to the US Air Force, the B-2 had achieved several important milestones; it had completed fatigue tests to 20,000 hours; it had undertaken all navigation and autopilot trials; and it had passed static load tests. Having passed all trials, mass production was authorized, with the main contractors being Northrop Grumman's B-2 Division, Boeing Military Aircraft Company, Hughes Radar System Group, and General Electric Aircraft Engine Group.
The B-2 production ended in 1997, when 21 bombers had been produced. The US Air Force accepted delivery of the aircraft in three configuration blocks, which were designated Block-10, Block-20, and Block-30. They are powered by four General Electric F118-GE-100 turbofan engines, each one delivering 19,000 pounds of thrust. It first saw combat action in 1999, flying sorties to strike targets in Yugoslav, using Joint Direct Attack Munition. It also took part in the war in Afghanistan in Operation Enduring Freedom from 2002 onward.
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| Above, the B-2A Spirit in flight in 1997. |
Technical Description
The Northrop B-2 Spirit is a two-seat, four-engine, subsonic monoplane, with a boomerang-shaped configuration. It has no conventional fuselage, with the entire structure being contained within a smoothly blended delta wing. The aircraft wing trailing edges form a ¨W¨ shape, while the leading edge has 33-degree sweep, as they are both designed to trap and deflect radar energy away. It has no tail assembly, lacking a tail plane and a vertical fin as the two triangular-shaped elevators are part of rear portion of fuselage. All moving surfaces (ailerons, flaps, and elevons) of trailing edge are computer-controlled. The bomb-bay is smoothly and snugly-contained within the fuselage.
The B-2 engines exhaust through V-shaped outlets, which are set up back and above the trailing edges. The purpose of this design is to hide the engine exhaust heat from enemy ground radar. The four General Electric F118 engines are buried deep within the aircraft fuselage, keeping the turbofan blades away from enemy radar transmissions. The fuselage is covered in graphite/epoxy materials, which absorbs radar waves and avoid reflection, thus contributing to the bomber's stealthiness. The cockpit windshields are 4-inch-thick laminated acrylic. The aircraft is fitted with a Hughes AN/APQ-181 phase-array radar, which is buried in the front fuselage.
Specifications (B-2A Spirit)
Type: long-range, strategic, stealth bomber
Length: 21 m (69 feet)
Wing Span: 52.43 m (172 feet)
Wing Area: 196 m2 (2,100 square feet)
Height: 5.18 m (17 feet)
Power Plant: four 19,000-lb-thrust, General Electric F118-GE-100 turbofan engines.
Maximum Speed: 1,044 km/h (648.7 mph)
Range: 12,225 km (7,596 miles)
Service Ceiling: 16,920 m (53,440 feet)
Crew: 2
Armament: eight B61 or B83 nuclear bombs; or sixteen stand-off cruise missiles; or 22,600 kg (50,000-lb) of conventional bombs, such as JDAMs, GBU-28, and GBU-57 guided bombs.
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| The AV-3 prototype in flight over California. |
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| Above, the eighth B-2A (89-0129), assigned to the 509th BW, flies over the Sierra Nevada Mountains, near Edwards Air Force base, California. |
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| The B-2 Spirit is about to touch down. Notice the landing gear, which is an adaptation of the Boeing 747's. |
Historical footage of the Northrop B-2 Spirit bomber (video)