The B-2 Spirit Bomber

The B-2 Spirit bomber, which first flew in 1989 after years of secret develop­ment, is much larger and heavier than the F-117. It was built by Northrop – Grumman, a manufacturer that pio­neered flying wing designs in the 1940s.

In the 1980s, Northrop-Grumman tested a stealth plane, code-named Tacit Blue, which has been described as “an upside – down bathtub with wings.” The B-2 was more elegant, shaped like a flying arrowhead. Computer-aided design gave the B-2 similar radar-baffling character­istics to the F-117. The B-2 carries a crew of two and has a range of 6,000 miles (9,650 kilometers). It relies on its stealthy approach to outwit defenses because it is relatively slow, flying at around 500 miles per hour (800 kilome­ters per hour). The B-2’s uses are very specialized, and the plane is expensive to produce. Like the F-117, the B-2 has been built in small numbers—there are only about twenty B-2s in existence.

Other modern warplanes, such as the F-22 Raptor, the F-35 Lightning II (Joint Strike Fighter), and the European Typhoon have stealth characteristics, but their shapes are more conventional
than that of the F-117 and the B-2. A key element in their design is that no feature (such as an engine outlet or weapons bay) gives off more than the minimum radar reflection. Stealth fea­tures must be balanced against other elements of the design, such as the high speed that is essential for a fighter plane.