The Stealth Bomber, B-2 Spirit

The apex of modern bombing. The master of stealth. The epitome of masterful design. The B-2 Spirit is the result of over a century of developments in planes, tactics, and design. Its flying wing design is a homage to not only Jack Northrop, but has roots as far back as the Nazis, and the concept of stealth bombing has its roots all the way back in the first world war.

Linke-Hofmann R.1 image from the Ray Wagner Collection

Way back when countries first started using planes as a weapon of war, people were already interested in making them less detectable. One of the early examples of this was the German Linke-Hofmann R.1; a heavy bomber with a fuselage constructed partially out of cellophane. This was meant to make it transparent but instead made it much more visible as it would often reflect the sun's rays. Still, it was proof that designers as early as the 1910s were already thinking of stealth. This idea became less relevant as R.A.D.A.R. made it possible to detect enemies far before they were visible, but made a resurgence as the physics of R.A.D.A.R. waves became better understood and thus the waves became more predictable. Complex algorithms made it possible to predict how R.A.D.A.R. waves would reflect off certain objects and thus made it possible for the first stealth aircraft to be designed.

An image of an F-117A by Staff Sgt. Aaron Allmon II of the USAF

The first plane to make use of this new development was the Lockheed F-117 Nighthawk. Due to computational limits of the time Lockheed could only predict the reflections of R.A.D.A.R. waves of flat surfaces, so the plane had to be constructed entirely out of those. Regardless, it was the first plane to be purpose built to be stealthy, and despite its relatively small payload it more than proved its worth when it took out Bagdad's entire missile defence system without ever being detected. This prove the usefulness of stealth and reinforced how much a true stealth bomber could help the US.

This plane used one other revolutionary concept: the flying wing design. Believe it or not, this idea can be traced all the way back to the Nazis, who by the end of the war had developed the Ho-229. This plane, however, was only in the prototype stage and no combat missions were ever flown by it. The next big attempt to employ this design was by Jack Northrop himself a few years later. The YB-49 was an attempt at using the flying wing design to create a bomber with greater endurance than ever before. The project was scrapped though, and all prototypes were ordered destroyed, much to the dismay of Jack Northrop. He subsequently retired from his company after seeing his dream crushed.

Image of Jack Northrop's YB-49 via the USAF

All of this came together in 1997 when the B-2 Spirit was introduced to the Air Force. A Low Observable flying wing bomber meant to be entirely undetectable by the enemy, saying it was impressive is a massive understatement. It has a R.A.D.A.R. cross-section (RCS) of less than one square meter, and buries its engines deep within the body to allow air to cool before exiting the plane, making it incredibly difficult to spot via thermal imaging as well. To get such a small RCS the plane uses more advanced algorithms and computers to aid in its design, as well as a special coating called RAM. Ram, or Radar Absorbent Material, is a special coating designed to absorb incoming R.A.D.A.R. waves and prevent them from returning to their source. The exact composition of the material is unknown, as it's a military secret, but it is known that it's applied as a coat on the plane. The way the design works is that it reflects incoming waves away from the source, so anything not absorbed still won't reach the R.A.D.A.R. station and be detected.

On top of this incredible stealth capability, the B-2 is capable of carrying up to 40,000 lbs of ordinance. This includes cluster bombs, sea mines, cruise missiles, nukes, and its most famed weapon: the smart bomb. Most often created using the Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM), smart bombs are bombs that are self guided and can maneuver mid-air to strike a pre-programmed target. This means that the B-2, already a difficult plane to defend against, doesn't even have to fly over its target to hit it. All the plane has to do it fly near the target and the bomb will seek its target out on its own. An extraordinary bomb, for an extraordinary plane.

Image of the B-2 Spirit by Staff Sgt. Bennie J. Davis III of the USAF

This plane is one of the most advanced in the world; incorporating innovations in multiple fields to provide the US Air Force with the most powerful bomber possible. It was developed with the use of modern computers, allowing it to have a complex round shape that deflected R.A.D.A.R. and maintained its aerodynamic shape. The pinnacle of Low observability; this bomber is truly historic, and in a fitting tribute to the man who inspired its Flying Wing design, one simple phrase was said at its unveiling:

"Jack Northrop, we salute you."

#Warbirds #B2