Recently, in the largest event of its kind in recent history, the U.S. Air Force undertook what it seldom does: a massive B-2 Spirit stealth bomber fly-off. According to information released by the 509th Bomb Wing, “twelve of the nation’s stealth bombers took off one at a time from Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri on April 15,” in what is considered a major moment in the history of American air power.
The fly-off was part of the annual Spirit Vigilance readiness exercise that ran from April 8 to April 12. The exercise was designed to demonstrate the readiness and capabilities of the B-2 fleet, and this year’s event bettered the previous record of eight bombers taking off from the base, which was set in 2022.
The B-2 Spirit stealth bomber has long been and remains an iconic aircraft with its flying wing design, symbolizing American air power. “Displays of this type can reinforce for any potential adversary the total and complete air power, bomber offensive power, that the B-2 brings to the fight,” an Air & Space Forces Magazine report quoted a spokesman for the 509th Bomb Wing, which oversees the Air Force’s combat B-2 fleet, as saying.
Col. Keith Butler, 509th Bomb Wing commander, said: “Such exercises are both critical to our readiness and a powerful tool to demonstrate to the world that the B-2 is a credible and reliable strategic deterrent.”
The B-2 Spirit stealth bomber is one leg of the nation’s nuclear triad, along with nuclear-capable B-52 bombers, land-based Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missiles, and Ohio-class submarines. Further, as explained by Col. Geoffrey Steeves, the 509th Operations Group commander, the bomber had unique capabilities which allowed it to be characterized by saying “The B-2 is the only aircraft on the planet that puts all of this together: stealth, payload, and long-range strike.
The fly-off also signified a return of stealth bomber capabilities following a fleet-wide stand-down in the wake of two separate accidents involving B-2s at Whiteman in 2021 and 2022. While flights were suspended, the B-2s remained on alert status and would have deployed if called upon during that period.
Steal bomber, B-2 Spirit was put into the services at the beginning of the 1990s and now has troops in Europe for missions related to NATO, next to fighters from the Royal Air Force of the United Kingdom. The return was underscored when one B-2 roared over the Southern California skies for the Rose Bowl in January, restoring a flyover tradition at the football game that bypassed 2023.
The U.S. Air Force plans to retire the B-2 fleet after already having done so with the B-21 Raider—yet another flying wing from Northrup Grumman—after it enters service in substantial numbers in the 2030s. Until that happens, though, the B-2 is an object yet to be fully unraveled. Expect the jet to stay an attention-grabbing machine and a deterrent to the U.S.’s rivals—therefore, it will go on playing a hugely important part in the nation’s defense strategy.