Summary and Key Points: The B-2 Spirit stealth bomber represents one of the most advanced and revolutionary aircraft ever built, with a unique flying-wing design that minimizes radar detection.
-Highly capable, it has proven effective in multiple operations, from Kosovo in 1999 to recent missions against Houthi targets in Yemen in 2024.
That Flaw – The Numbers Problem: Despite these successes, its major flaw remains limited numbers—only 19 B-2 bombers are operational today. Cost overruns, budget cuts post-Cold War, and accidents have restricted production significantly.
-Consequently, despite its unmatched stealth and striking capabilities, the small fleet size limits the strategic flexibility and global responsiveness the aircraft was originally designed to provide.
The B-2 Bomber Is Flawed Thanks to Limited Numbers
While the B-2 Spirit bomber is an amazing platform, having only 19 of these warplanes is a serious flaw that can’t ever be fixed.
In the late 1970s, the United States began developing what would be effectively the second generation of stealthy aircraft programs—specifically the F-117A Stealth Fighter and the B-2 Stealth Bomber.
Its design was revolutionary for its time—a “flying wing.” This design was historically a specialty of Northrop, the company that designed and built the B-2. This wing shape creates an aircraft with a short yet broad wing and no fuselage or tail.
Being an all-wing body means the entire fuselage is the primary lift and control surface. However, the aircraft had to be designed and built with no vertical control surfaces to be stealthy. Any vertical stabilizers and rudders would create radar-reflective edges. So, eliminating these components was a primary requirement if the aircraft was to have a low radar cross section (RCS).
This configuration creates a fundamentally unstable aircraft. Without a vertical tail or other control surfaces, the B-2 flight control system relies on trailing edge flaps on its notched wing to control roll, pitch, and yaw.
This unconventional arrangement requires a computer-driven stabilization and flight control system to give the aircraft controllable and maneuverable flying characteristics.
The external shape of the bomber is formed from a series of complex, large-radius curved surfaces. This design disperses radar signals so that they do not present a proper return to the platform that has emitted them.
Other radar signals are either absorbed by the external skin of the aircraft or are channeled down the trailing edge of the aircraft or in some other vector where they will not be detected.
In operations, the B-2 bomber can reach high subsonic speeds and an altitude of more than 50,000 feet. It can drop conventional and thermonuclear weapons, including up to eighty of the 500-pound class Mk 82 JDAM GPS-guided bombs or sixteen 2,400-pound B83 nuclear bombs.
Operational Examples
The combat effectiveness of the B-2 was first proven in Operation Allied Force in 1999, where it destroyed 33 percent of all Serbian targets in the first eight weeks.
Moreover, the aircraft was not based out of any United States Air Force bases in Europe. Instead, B-2s flew nonstop from its home base, Whiteman AFB in Missouri, to Kosovo and back.
In support of Operation Enduring Freedom in 2001, the B-2 flew one of its longest missions from Whiteman to Afghanistan and back. Again, the aircraft performed in an exemplary manner and was part of the effort that decimated the Taliban.
The B-2 completed its first-ever deployment into a combat zone in support of 2003’s Operation Iraqi Freedom. The aircraft flew 22 sorties from a forward operating location and 27 sorties flown out of Whiteman AFB. In the process, B-2s released more than 1.5 million pounds of munitions.
Following participation in these campaigns, the aircraft received full operational capability (FOC) status in December 2003. Subsequently, in February 2009, the US Air Force’s newest command, Air Force Global Strike Command, assumed responsibility for the B-2 fleet from Air Combat Command.
Once More Into The Breach
The most recent employment of the aircraft in a combat operation was in October 2024, when the aircraft was directed to conduct airstrikes on the facilities of the Iran-supported Houthi rebels in Yemen. It was the first time in the 2020s that the aircraft had been pressed into service.
The bombers conducted airstrikes on five underground weapons facilities, said then-US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin in an official statement.
“This was a unique demonstration of the United States’ ability to target facilities that our adversaries seek to keep out of reach, no matter how deeply buried underground, hardened, or fortified,” Austin said.
“The employment of U.S. Air Force B-2 Spirit long-range stealth bombers demonstrate US global strike capabilities to take action against these targets when necessary, anytime, anywhere,” read Austin’s communique.
The B-2 Has a Flaw
Thanks to the end of the Cold War, the B-2 Spirit has only a handful of units available. Thanks to production costs and accidents, there are only 19 B-2A Spirit stelath bombers left.
B-2 Bomber Story in Photos
A B-2 Spirit stealth bomber from Whiteman Air Force Base completes a fly-over during the Sound of Speed Airshow at Rosecrans Air National Guard Base, in St. Joseph, Missouri, May 1, 2021. The air show was hosted by the city of St. Joseph and 139th Airlift Wing, Missouri Air National Guard to thank the community for their support. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Airman Janae Masoner)
Crew chiefs assigned to the 509th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron prep a B-2 Spirit stealth bomber for a hot-pit refuel, at Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri, April 4, 2022. Exercise Agile Tiger promotes resilience, innovation, competitiveness and process improvement, all talents required to address today’s complex challenges. (U.S Air Force Photo by Senior Airman Christina Carter)
A U.S. Air Force B-2 Spirit “Stealth” bomber, 393rd Expeditionary Bomb Squadron, 509th Bomb Wing, Whiteman Air Force Base, Mo., flies over the Pacific Ocean after a recent aerial refueling mission, May 2, 2005. The Bombers are deployed to Anderson Air Force Base, Guam, as part of a rotation that has provided the U.S. Pacific Command a continous bomber presence in the Asian Pacific region since February 2004, enhancing regional security and the U.S. commitment to the Western Pacific. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech Sgt. Cecilio Ricardo) (Released)
U.S. Air Force B-2 Spirit aircraft undergo pre-flight inspections prior to take off at Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, Aug. 11, 2016. More than 200 Airmen and three B-2s deployed from Whiteman Air Force Base, Mo., to conduct local sorties and regional training and integrate with regional allies in support of Bomber Assurance and Deterrence missions. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Miguel Lara III)
Shown is a B-21 Raider artist rendering graphic. The rendering highlights the future stealth bomber with Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., as the backdrop. Designed to perform long range conventional and nuclear missions and to operate in tomorrow’s high end threat environment, the B-21 will be a visible and flexible component of the nuclear triad. (U.S. Air Force graphic). This is the third USAF rendering of the B-21 Raider. Note changes in the windshield from previous official renderings.
191209-N-HG846-2001 NORFOLK,Va. (Dec. 9, 2019) This poster is designed to communicate the aircraft specifications of the B2 Spirit Stealth Bomber. The B2 bomber was introduced on Jan. 1, 1997 by the Northrop Corporation.
About the Author: Reuben F. Johnson
Reuben F. Johnson is a survivor of the February 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine and is now an Expert on Foreign Military Affairs with the Fundacja im. Kazimierza Pułaskiego in Warsaw. He has been a consultant to the Pentagon, several NATO governments and the Australian government in the fields of defense technology and weapon systems design. Over the past 30 years he has resided in and reported from Russia, Ukraine, Poland, Brazil, the People’s Republic of China and Australia.
