More than half of the US Air Force’s B-2 Spirit stealth bombers conducted a large-scale exercise earlier this week, staging a massive takeoff.
The photos show the aircraft – known for its flying wing design and its ability to exploit its less observable, or stealthy, characteristics to penetrate even the most sophisticated enemy defenses and unleash a devastating conventional or nuclear strike. — taxi on the runway before takeoff.
A B-2 Spirit stealth bomber assigned to the 509th Bomb Wing taxis to the runway at Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri, April 15, 2024. US Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Hailey Farrell
The B-2s took off Monday from Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri, capping the annual Spirit Vigilance exercise aimed at demonstrating the capabilities and readiness of the base’s B-2s. This year’s exercise featured the largest mass B-2 takeoff ever, with 12 of the 20 active aircraft involved. The second largest was eight aircraft in 2022.
According to the Air Force, the B-2, a two-seat strategic bomber manufactured by Northrop Grumman, “delivers massive firepower, in short order, to anywhere on the globe through previously impenetrable defenses.” Its stealth capabilities give it the ability to do what other aircraft, like the B-52 and B-1 bombers, cannot.
Video footage of recent exercise released by Whiteman Air Force Base, the only operational B-2 base, showed the B-2 bombers preparing for takeoff before hitting the runway and flying away.
Decades after it first entered service in the early 1990s, the B-2 remains relevant today.
The bomber first saw combat in the 1999 Kosovo War, hitting Serbian targets with conventional munitions, and flew sorties over Iraq, Afghanistan and other conflict zones.
Its stealth capabilities, payload capacity, and ability to execute long-range strike missions make it a formidable aircraft and deterrent to U.S. rivals. For a long time, it was the world’s only stealth bomber, but the United States is making progress on a new stealth bomber, the B-21 Raider, which made its first flight in November last year.
As a penetrating strike stealth bomber, the B-21, according to the US military, is expected to “form the backbone of the Air Force’s future bomber force.”
A B-2 Spirit stealth bomber assigned to the 509th Bomb Wing takes off from Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri, April 15, 2024. U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Matthew S. Domingos
For now, however, the B-2 is the ultimate stealth bomber, as the aircraft is capable of threatening an adversary’s “most valuable and heavily defended” targets. Its ability to penetrate air defenses and threaten effective retaliation provides a powerful and effective force. deterrent and combat force well into the 21st century,” the Air Force said.
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