The Northrop Grumman's B-2 Spirit (also known as the Flying Wing or more commonly as the stealth bomber) is an American heavy bomber with "low observable" stealth technology designed to penetrate dense anti-aircraft defenses and deploy both conventional and nuclear weapons. Because of its considerable capital and operations costs, the project was controversial in Congress and among Pentagon brass. During the late 1980s and early 1990s, Congress slashed initial plans to purchase 132 bombers to just 21.
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| - Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit
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| rdfs:comment
| - The Northrop Grumman's B-2 Spirit (also known as the Flying Wing or more commonly as the stealth bomber) is an American heavy bomber with "low observable" stealth technology designed to penetrate dense anti-aircraft defenses and deploy both conventional and nuclear weapons. Because of its considerable capital and operations costs, the project was controversial in Congress and among Pentagon brass. During the late 1980s and early 1990s, Congress slashed initial plans to purchase 132 bombers to just 21.
- Development originally started under the "Advanced Technology Bomber" (ATB) project during the Carter administration, and its performance was one of the reasons for his cancellation of the B-1 Lancer. ATB continued during the Reagan administration, but worries about delays in its introduction led to the reinstatement of the B-1 program as well. Program costs rose throughout development. Designed and manufactured by Northrop Grumman with assistance from Boeing, the cost of each aircraft averaged US$737 million (in 1997 dollars). Total procurement costs averaged $929 million per aircraft, which includes spare parts, equipment, retrofitting, and software support. The total program cost, which includes development, engineering and testing, averaged $2.1 billion per aircraft in 1997.
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| max takeoff weight alt
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| loaded weight main
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| max speed more
| - at 40,000 ft altitude / Mach 0.95 at sea level
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| span main
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| Produced
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| cruise speed main
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| loading main
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| Caption
| - This plane costs US$2.1 billion dollars to build.
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| length main
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| area main
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| height main
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| span alt
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| range main
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| Manufacturer
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| max speed main
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| thrust/weight
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| ceiling main
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| empty weight main
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| type of jet
| - non-afterburning turbofans
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| loaded weight alt
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| heighteng
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| enteredservicedate
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| numberengines
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| maxspeedeng
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| wingareaeng
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| maxtakeoffweighteng
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| emptyweighteng
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| ceilingeng
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| powereng
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| lengtheng
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| 1stflightdate
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| area alt
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| Passengers
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| engine (jet)
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| max speed alt
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| jet or prop?
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| cruisespeedeng
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| loading alt
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| empty weight alt
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| thrust main
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| number of jets
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| Engine
| - General Electric F118-GE-100 non-afterburning turbofans
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| plane or copter?
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| max takeoff weight main
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| Crew
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| Armament
| - *2 internal bays for of ordnance.
**80× 500 lb class bombs mounted on Bomb Rack Assembly
**36× 750 lb CBU class bombs on BRA
**16× 2000 lb class weapons mounted on Rotary Launcher Assembly
**16× B61 or B83 nuclear weapons on RLA
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| ref
| - USAF Fact Sheet, Pace, Spick, Globalsecurity
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| more general
| - Fuel Capacity: 167,000 pounds
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| abstract
| - The Northrop Grumman's B-2 Spirit (also known as the Flying Wing or more commonly as the stealth bomber) is an American heavy bomber with "low observable" stealth technology designed to penetrate dense anti-aircraft defenses and deploy both conventional and nuclear weapons. Because of its considerable capital and operations costs, the project was controversial in Congress and among Pentagon brass. During the late 1980s and early 1990s, Congress slashed initial plans to purchase 132 bombers to just 21. The cost of each aircraft averaged US$737 million in 1997 dollars. Total procurement costs averaged US$929 million per aircraft, which includes spare parts, equipment, retrofitting, and software support. The total program cost, which includes development, engineering and testing, averaged US$2.1 billion per aircraft (in 1997 dollars). Twenty B-2s are operated by the United States Air Force. Though originally designed in the 1980s for Cold War operations scenarios, B-2s have been used in combat to drop bombs on Serbia during the Kosovo - Serbia Conflict in the late 1990s, and see continued use during the ongoing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. One aircraft (The Spirit of Kansas") was lost when it crashed on take off in 2008. The cause of the crash was condensation build-up in the aircraft's flight computer; that caused to malfunction. Both crew members ejected safely. The bomber has a crew of two and can drop up to 80 x 500 lb (230 kg) -class JDAM GPS-guided bombs, or 16 x 2,400 lb (1,100 kg) B83 nuclear bombs in a single pass through extremely dense anti-aircraft defenses. The B-2 is the only aircraft that can carry large air to surface standoff weapons in a stealth configuration. The program has been the subject of espionage and counter-espionages activity. The B-2 has been a prominent public spectacle at air shows since the 1990s. The beauty of it is that the plane's stealth registration gives enough radar return as a seagull, and a whole formation of these birds shows up on radar as a flock of seagulls. Not bad for a plane the size of a football field.
- Development originally started under the "Advanced Technology Bomber" (ATB) project during the Carter administration, and its performance was one of the reasons for his cancellation of the B-1 Lancer. ATB continued during the Reagan administration, but worries about delays in its introduction led to the reinstatement of the B-1 program as well. Program costs rose throughout development. Designed and manufactured by Northrop Grumman with assistance from Boeing, the cost of each aircraft averaged US$737 million (in 1997 dollars). Total procurement costs averaged $929 million per aircraft, which includes spare parts, equipment, retrofitting, and software support. The total program cost, which includes development, engineering and testing, averaged $2.1 billion per aircraft in 1997. Because of its considerable capital and operational costs, the project was controversial in the U.S. Congress and among the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The winding-down of the Cold War in the later portion of the 1980s dramatically reduced the need for the aircraft, which was designed with the intention of penetrating Soviet airspace and attacking high-value targets. During the late 1980s and early 1990s, the Congress slashed initial plans to purchase 132 bombers to 21. In 2008 one bomber crashed just after takeoff and was destroyed as the crew ejected safely. A total of 20 B-2s remain in service with the United States Air Force. Though originally designed primarily as a nuclear bomber, the B-2 was first used in combat to drop conventional bombs on Serbia during the Kosovo War in 1999, and saw continued use during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. B-2s were also used during the 2011 Libyan uprising.
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