The B-2 Spirit stealth bomber is destined to go down in history as one of the U.S. military’s most expensive procurements.
$1 Billion for Each Airplane
Each B-2 Spirit aircraft costs just over $1 billion (2010 dollars) to purchase. With additional costs for development, testing and ongoing engineering, the total price for each aircraft is close to $3 billion (2010 dollars). That makes the B-2 Spirit the most expensive aircraft ever designed and purchased by the U.S. military. Due to the high costs, the U.S. Congress was forced to reduce its initial order of 132 B-2 Spirit to just 20 of the aircraft.
In 2011, the U.S. Air Force was actively using 20 B-2 Spirit aircraft to support combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. The B-2 Spirit is classified as a "heavy bomber," and it uses stealth technology to infiltrate enemy positions and slip past anti-aircraft defenses. The B-2 Spirit is capable of dropping both conventional and nuclear bombs. The aircraft has also been used in combat during the 1999 Kosovo War, where it dropped bombs on Serbia, and for a variety of espionage operations.
Development and Technology
Development of the B-2 Spirit bomber began in the late 1980s towards the end of the Cold War. Design and testing continued throughout the 1990s. The first aircraft was introduced into the U.S. Air Force in 1997. The total program costs associated with the B-2 Spirit aircraft had reached $50 billion by the end of 2010. The high costs have made the B-2 Spirit a controversial military program with both federal politicians and the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who have found themselves grudgingly defending the program over the years.
The B-2 Spirit bomber is expensive due mostly to its advanced stealth technology, as well as its avionics and radar systems. The aircraft has a maximum speed of Mach 0.95 – about 600 miles per hour – a wing span of 172 feet, and a crew of two military personnel. In terms of weapons, the B-2 Spirit bomber is equipped with 80 Mk-82 500 pound bombs, 36 CBU 750 pound bombs, and 16 JDAM-102 and JDAM-84 2,000 pound bombs. The aircraft can also carry up to 16 B61 or B83 nuclear bombs. The B-2 Spirit bomber has a maximum takeoff weight of 376,000 pounds.