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Can you give me some info on this plane.

by all means mr. button.

Northrop B-2 spirit
2 seat , long range strategic bomber
four 19,000-lb thrust general electric F-118-GE-110 turbofan engines
range...7600 miles
ceiling-50,000 ft.

span- 172 ft
length- 69 ft
height- 17 ft
wing area- 2110 sq ft.

first flew on July 17/1989

this plane is nearly invisible to radar due to engines being concealed deep within the structure and the fact that everything about the body structure and elements is radar absorbing.

weapons......

normal strategic load of eight B61 or B3 nuclear bombs, or 16 stand-off nuclear missiles on rotary launcher in bomb bay.

maximum conventional load of 80 Mk 82 500-lb conventional bombs or up to 50,000 lb of other conventional weapons



hope this helps a little

Christ! I think that's more than the Russians had on it!

- JG300-Hoppa

this plane is nearly invisible to radar due to engines being concealed deep within the structure and the fact that everything about the body structure and elements is radar absorbing.

weapons......

<snip>

maximum conventional load of 80 Mk 82 500-lb conventional bombs or up to 50,000 lb of other conventional weapons

Lessee, that's about ten 5,000lb GPS-guided JDAMs per plane, unseen on radar. How many of these planes have we got? I'm thinking nuclear facilities show up pretty good in satellite imagery...I wonder how many trips it would take?

Never mind,
C

- C_Sherman

Lessee, that's about ten 5,000lb GPS-guided JDAMs per plane, unseen on radar. How many of these planes have we got? I'm thinking nuclear facilities show up pretty good in satellite imagery...I wonder how many trips it would take?

Never mind,
C

Chuck,
Does it matter? I don't see any problem with going into a little "overtime".

D.

Down below is all the info i could find on this plane.

Revealed on November 22, 1988, the B-2A is a stealth strategic bomber which resulted from a program started in 1978. The first of six prototypes made its maiden flight on July 17, 1989 with testing scheduled to be completed in 1997. The B-2 is shaped in the form of a 'flying wing', with smoothly contoured surfaces and rounded edges to help deflect radar. Engine exhausts are positioned above and back of the wing front-edge to help reduce infrared signatures. The USAF plan to acquire a total of 20 B-2A aircraft.

The B-2 will probably only be built in small numbers (currently 21 have been ordered), because the cost of replacing all the old B-52's is considered to be far too high. The B-2 is a stealth bomber, a flying wing design with a smooth, rounded upper surfaces, but angular wingtips and a double-W trailing edge. The four engines are deeply buried in the midwing section. The B-2 is difficult and expensive to operate, with 124 maintenance hours per flight hour.

Development of the ATB (Advanced Technology Bomber) began in 1978; the programme was revealed to the public in 1981, when Northrop's design was chosen over a Lockheed/Rockwell proposal. Although no details of the design were revealed, it was widely assumed that the aircraft would be a "flying wing" design, based on Northrop's experience with the XB-35 and YB-49, and this was confirmed when the first prototype was rolled out on 22 November 1988. It made its first flight on 17 July 1989, and the first production B-2 was delivered to the USAF in 1993. Production plans have been drastically cut from 135 aircraft to only 20, of which the last is expected to be delivered in 1997. The aircraft was officially named "Spirit" in February 1994; Northrop became Northrop Grumman in May 1994.

Vital statistics (B-2A): length 21.03 m, span 52.42 m, empty weight 72575 kg, max weight 168434 kg, max speed 1103 km/h, range 13898 km, payload 22370 kg; power plant: four 84.51 kN General Electric F118-100 turbofans.

Prime contractor: Northrop Grumman Corporation
Nation of origin: USA
Function: Strategic stealth bomber
Crew: 2/3
Year: 1989
In-service year: Complete delivery by 2000
Engine: Four General Electric F118-GE-110 non-afterburning turbofans, 19,000 lb thrust each
Wing span: 52.43 m
Wing Area: 465.5 m2
Length: 21.03 m
Height: 5.18 m
Weight: 168434 kg
Ceiling: 16765 m
Speed: 1103 km/h
Range: 18,520 km with one air refuel
Armament: Up to 80,000 lb including 16 B61/B83 nuclear bombs, 80 Mk82 1,000 lb bombs or 16 Mk84 2,000 lb bombs, 36 M117 750 lb fire bombs, 36 cluster bombs, or 80 Mk36 1,000 lb sea mines
Unit cost: 800-1300 million USD

- Doug_Kibbey

- C_Sherman

Lessee, that's about ten 5,000lb GPS-guided JDAMs per plane, unseen on radar. How many of these planes have we got? I'm thinking nuclear facilities show up pretty good in satellite imagery...I wonder how many trips it would take?

Never mind,
C

Chuck,
Does it matter? I don't see any problem with going into a little "overtime".

D.

Second that!