Northrop B-2 Spirit
But let's give it a chance. The author will finish it later.
Or maybe not. Should they choose the latter, within seven days, this page will not exist anymore.
Now, go away!
Health Warning: Putting this template on a page consisting of a few lines or worse will not save you and may actually get you banned.
This page will be re-checked on 23 June 2025
| A U.S. Air Force B-2 Spirit flying. | |
| General information | |
|---|---|
| Type | Stealth flying Dorito |
| National origin | United States |
| Manufacturer | Northrop Corporation Northrop Grumman |
| Status | In service |
| Primary user | United States Air Force |
| Number built | 21 |
| History | |
| Manufactured | 1989–2000 |
| Introduction date | 1 January 1997 |
| First flight | 17 July 1989; 35 years ago |
| Successors | Northrop Grumman B-21 Raider |
The Northrop B-2 Spirit, also known as the “Flying Dorito” or “Stealth bomber” by the public, is an American heavy strategic bomber, featuring low-observable stealth technology designed to penetrate dense anti-aircraft defences that are too dumb to get a lock on the B-2 so it can obliterate a country. The B-2 is a subsonic Dorito with a crew of two, the plane was designed by Northrop (later Northrop Grumman) as the prime contractor, with Boeing, Hughes, and Vought as lesser subcontractors, and was produced from 1988 to 2000. The bomber can drop normal and thermonuclear weapons, such as up to eighty 500-pound class (230 kg) Mk 82 JDAM GPS-guided bombs, or sixteen 2,400-pound (1,100 kg) B83 nuclear bombs spreading democracy all over the world. The B-2 is the only acknowledged in-service aircraft that can carry large air-to-surface standoff weapons in a stealth configuration. (Maybe the classified SR-72 can beat it)
Development[edit]
By the mid-1970s, military aircraft designers had learned of a new method to avoid missiles and interceptors, known today as "stealth". The concept was to build an aircraft that resembles a Dorito that deflected or absorbed radar signals so that little was reflected back to the radar unit. An aircraft having radar stealth characteristics would be able to fly nearly undetected and could be attacked only by weapons and systems not relying on radar like guns on every fighter aircraft. Although other detection measures existed, such as eyeballs, infrared scanners, and acoustic locators, their relatively short detection range or poorly developed technology allowed most aircraft to fly undetected, or at least untracked, especially at night when humans can’t see anything.
Where could it be going?
In 1974, DARPA, in a desperate attempt to make planes disappear (or at least, seem invisible), asked US aviation firms about the biggest radar-reflecting cross section an aircraft could have and still be, you know, stealthy. Initially, Northrop and McDonnell Douglas were chosen to figure out how to make a plane look like a Dorito. Lockheed, with their experience building the Lockheed A-12 and the SR-71. They'd already experimented with a few stealth techniques, like canted vertical stabilisers and a very special radar-absorbing paint (which, frankly, is just the colour grey). A crucial step forward was the introduction of computer models, which allowed them to predict how much radar would bounce off different surfaces. The collected data then guided the design process, making the plane look less like a mesh of polygons made in blender and more like a Dorito.
Plans were well advanced by the summer of 1975, when DARPA started the Experimental Survivability Testbed project – basically, a competition to see who could build the most invisible, invincible flying Dorito. Northrop and Lockheed, two companies who had concepts for the most bat fuck insane aircraft, were awarded contracts in the first round of testing. Lockheed obnoxiously snagged the sole award for the second test round in April 1976, leading to the development of the F-117 stealth bomber aircraft, a mesh of black polygons equipped with a shameful armament of 2 bombs (it really made everyone else's designs look better). Northrop, not to be outdone, had a classified technology demonstration aircraft in development by 1979 at Area 51. This craft, a true marvel of engineering (and probably some drugs), developed stealth technology, low observable aircraft, fly-by-wire (making the pilots feel like they are flying a video game Airbus), curved surfaces, composite materials, and nukes. In all this reduced its radar cross section so much it appeared on radars to be a large bird flying at 1,000 kph.
Design[edit]
The B-2 Spirit, affectionately nicknamed the “Flying Dorito” by some, was designed to be the USAF's secret weapon, a flying, airborne triangle capable of sneaking into enemy territory deploying so much ordinance that it could turn Iran into a parking lot. The B-2 is a flying wing, meaning it's basically just a unstable flying wing with no tail or fuselage that likes to crash its self.
It's got significant advantages over previous bombers. Like low observability, high aerodynamic efficiency, and a payload that could decimate a small pathetic country. This allows vast range and a panoramic view for its onboard. The USAF claims a range of approximately 11,000 kilometres and can mid air refuel up to six times.
The B-2 bomber, a flying marvel of stealthy sophistication, used computer-aided design in manufacturing because no one has the brain power to make a flying Dorito. Since the B-2 was not normal needed this high-tech black magic just to achieve stable flight. All of this resulted in the B-2 costing over £1,000,000,000.
The B-2 can carry up to 18,000 kilograms of ordinance to drop on America’s enemy without getting shot down. It is capable of carrying nuclear and conventional weapons such as the B61 nuclear bomb and the conventional mark 82.