B-2 Spirit Stealth Bomber:
The United States recently deployed its B-2 Spirit stealth bombers on Saturday to carry out precision airstrikes on Iran’s nuclear infrastructure.
- B-2 Spirit Stealth Bomber is a United States long-range stealth bomber.
- It first flew in 1989 and was delivered to the U.S. Air Force starting in 1993. There are currently 19 in service.
- It is built and maintained by Northrop Grumman Corporation.
- The U.S. B-2 costs about $2.1 billion each, making it the world’s most expensive military aircraft ever built.
- It is known for its low observability, all-altitude capability, and ability to penetrate the most sophisticated air defenses.
- Due to its low-observability engineering, the fighter is difficult to detect by conventional radar.
- Its flying-wing design, radar-absorbent materials, and reduced infrared signature result in a radar cross-section of about 0.001 square meters—comparable to that of a small bird.
- The bomber is flown by a crew of two, the pilot and the mission commander.
- Power is provided by four turbofan engines.
- It has a top speed of 628 miles (1,010 km) per hour.
- The advanced jet also has several other features, including its capability to travel up to 6,000 nautical miles (11,112 km) without refueling and massive arsenal capacity and ability to perform operations freely even at high altitudes.
- With aerial refueling, the B-2 can reach virtually any target worldwide.
- Its payload capacity of more than 40,000 pounds (18,144 kg) allows the aircraft to carry a diverse array of conventional and nuclear weapons.
- The bomber’s internal weapons bays are specifically designed to maintain stealth characteristics while accommodating large ordnance loads, which could include two GBU-57A/B MOP (Massive Ordnance Penetrator), a 30,000-pound precision-guided “bunker buster” bomb.
- MOP represents the largest conventional bomb in the U.S. arsenal, specifically engineered to defeat hardened underground bunkers.
- B-2 bombers are the only plane capable of carrying the MOP.
