The B-2 strategic bomber was first utilized by NATO in air strikes against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY), making it the first such aircraft to be used in combat.The B-2 strategic bomber was a product of the Cold War and was developed by the U.S. company Northrop for the U.S. Air Force.The B-2 strategic bomber was developed by the U.S. company Northrop for the U.S. Air Force in 1979 in response to strategic In 1979, the U.S. Air Force, based on strategic considerations, called for the development of a high-altitude surprise stealth strategic bomber to deal with the Soviet Union in the 1990s may be deployed in the air defense system. 1981 began to build prototypes, in 1989 the prototype test flights. Later, the program was modified so that the B-2 bomber had both high- and low-altitude surprise defense capabilities and could perform dual missions of nuclear and conventional bombing. The U.S. Air Force*** ordered 21 B-2 bombers, the first of which was delivered in late 1993. On February 23, 2008, a U.S. B-2 strategic bomber crashed at Guam Air Force Base. There are still 20 of them.With a unit price of $2.22 billion, the B-2 bomber is by far the most expensive airplane in the world.
The B-2 bomber uses a wing-body fusion, tailless flying wing configuration, with the leading edge of the wing intersecting at the nose, and the trailing edge of the wing in a serrated shape. Fuselage wing a large number of graphite / carbon fiber composite materials, honeycomb structure, the surface of the wave-absorbing coating, the generator nozzle placed above the wing. This unique shape design and materials, can effectively avoid the detection of radar, to achieve good stealth effect.B-2 bomber has three kinds of combat mission: First, undetected deep into the enemy's hinterland, high precision to drop bombs or launch missiles, so that the weapon system has the highest efficiency; Second, detect, find and destroy moving targets; Third, the establishment of deterrent forces. The USAF has threatened that the B-2 bomber can take off from US soil and attack targets in any part of the world within hours of being ordered to do so.
The B-2 bomber is subdivided into three models. "The Brock 10, which can carry up to 16 B-83 nuclear bombs and 16 MK84 conventional bombs, has a cruising speed of Mach 0.8, a ceiling of 19,240 meters, a range of 11,675 kilometers, and a range of more than 18,500 kilometers with an aerial refueling; "The Brock 20, which can carry up to 16 B-61 nuclear bombs, has the capability to carry ground-attack missiles outside the air defense zone, can also carry 36 cluster bombs and 16 Global Positioning System (GPS)-assisted-guidance bombs, and has the ability to fly certain missions automatically; "The Brock 30, which can carry up to 80 MK80 bombs, 36 M117 bombs, 80 MK62 bombs, 16 combined frontal-attack bombs, and eight air defense out-of-area attack missiles, with some automatic mission accomplishment capability.
Development of the B-2 stealth bomber began in 1978, and the procurement program, which was finalized in 1989, included one prototype and 132 operational aircraft (five of which were converted from the prototype). The total cost amounted to $60 billion (1989 currency), an average of $450 million per aircraft.
The original idea for the B-2A bomber began in 1975. At that time, the U.S. Department of Defense under the "Advanced Programs Agency" out of a project code-named "Harvey", the implementation of the Air Force, derived from the XST (Experimental, Stealth, Combat) program. In this program, the idea of applying stealth technology to aircraft was first proposed. The Lockheed Corporation, which has experience in the development of military aircraft, was the first to obtain the military's development contract, and soon came up with two full-size XST prototypes, which initially proved the feasibility of applying stealth technology to airplanes.
In 1977, the Cold War was still in full swing. In order to be able to stealthily break into Soviet airspace, to find and destroy the Soviet Union's mobile intercontinental ballistic nuclear missile launchers and other important strategic targets in depth, the U.S. Air Force proposed to create a new type of strategic bomber, which is required to be able to avoid each other's air radar detection network, infiltration of the enemy's depths, to the 80% success rate to complete the task. To this end, the Air Force proposed a "saber penetrator" program, the application of stealth technology listed on the specific agenda. As Lockheed Company recently submitted the prototype was well received, the Air Force will produce F-117A stealth fighter contract to the company. With the production of stealth fighters, the U.S. Department of Defense and congressional dignitaries have begun to accept the concept of "stealth bombing alum", and in 1979 formally approved the development of the Air Force to apply for the report of this aircraft. The following year, the U.S. Air Force on the development of "Advanced Strategic Surge Aircraft (ASPA)" for public bidding, Northrop proposed program was approved. Subsequently, the U.S. Air Force to the development of the aircraft program officially named "Advanced Technology Bomber (ATB)", - this is the B-2 stealth strategic bomber of the original name.
In the early years of the 1980s, the B-2 design underwent several major changes. For example, in 1984, major changes were made to the design of the aircraft's main wing, as the Air Force required the aircraft to be able to not only break in at high altitude, but also to be able to break out at ultra-low altitude, which brought about a series of issues such as increasing the lift of the aircraft, increasing the strength of the mechanical structure, and further decreasing the radar reflective cross-section of the aircraft, which made the design of the aircraft take a number of years to be finalized.
On April 20, 1988, the U.S. Air Force for the first time showed a B-2 aircraft hand-painted appearance of color, the world for a shock, the aviation industry and many military aircraft enthusiasts are its unique appearance and wonder. On November 22 of the same year, numbered AV-1 B-2 prototype bomber finally "a thousand times out", a moment to become a monster of the American public to see, the world's military publications also scrambled to report on it. But after that, the B-2 once again disappeared for several years. During this period, it has experienced the military conducted a number of secret test flights and rigorous inspection, the manufacturer had to be based on the Air Force put forward a variety of views and a variety of harsh requirements for continuous design modifications. After five full years, on December 17, 1993, the USAF finally launched the first B-2A aircraft.
On April 2, 1997, the first six B-2A stealth bombers entered service with the U.S. Air Force, and another 15 will be delivered as planned.
Secrecy
The B-2 is an extremely classified US weapons system. Not since the Manhattan Project, which developed the atomic bomb during World War II, has a weapons system been placed under such tight security as the B-2.
As early as September 1980, the U.S. Air Force asked Lockheed and Northrop to submit a proposal for the Advanced Technology Stealth Bomber (ATB) program on five aspects: performance, cost, logistical support, program management and security. The Lockheed proposal was given the top-secret designation SeniorPeg and the Northrop proposal was given the top-secret designation Senior lce. Northrop was awarded the contract on October 20, 1981, and changed the top-secret designation to Senior CJ in honor of CJ Kelley, the Undersecretary of the U.S. Air Force for Stealth Aircraft, who had recently died of cancer. CJ Kelly. The main subcontractors are Boeing for the titanium rear mid-wing, outer wings, fuel system, weapons launch system and landing gear, for which Boeing employs - 10,000 people, and LTV for the mid-wing, aluminum and titanium structures and composite structures, for which LTV employs 4,000 people.
General Electric supplied the F119-GE-110 turbofan engine with 84.5 kN (19,000 lbf) of thrust. The 12,000 employees of Northrop were responsible for building the forward center section with the cockpit and general assembly.
On April 8, 1982, Northrop purchased an unused Ford Motor Company plant in Pico Rivera, a suburb of Los Angeles, and converted it into a windowless, strictly secret factory. The entire company was under 24-hour surveillance by military and security personnel, and the planned expenditure on security measures for the B2 aircraft amounted to $2 billion. For example, in order to prevent Soviet submarines from sneaking into the California coast and electronically breaking into the B-2 program's computer software system, the rooms housing Bicola's CAD/CAM (computer-aided design/assisted manufacturing) terminals are surrounded by special metal panels that are impenetrable to electromagnetism. In addition, each computer is fitted with a special cover to prevent unauthorized personnel from seeing the information on the computer. Hundreds of workers in key positions are required to undergo polygraph tests to prevent spies and drug addicts from infiltrating the facility. Even more stringent requirements were imposed on senior managers, very few of whom knew the full details of the program. A Northrop vice president was forced to change his Canadian wife's citizenship to U.S. citizen before he was cleared to intervene in the B-2 program. In order to maintain better secrecy at Bico Rivera, dummy companies were set up elsewhere to receive parts from subcontractors and transfer them to Bico Rivera in unmarked trucks in the dead of night. Air Force officials were uniformly required to change into civilian clothes to visit Bicolefra. And in Congress-*** only eight members knew about it.
The stealth B-2A bomber is 21.03 meters long, 5.18 meters high, with a wingspan of 52.43 meters and a maximum bomb load of 22,680 kilograms. The aircraft is equipped with four American General Dynamics F118-GE-100 turbofan engines. Aircraft in the air without refueling, combat range of up to 1.2 million kilometers, air refueling once up to 1.8 million kilometers. Each mission of the air flight time is generally not less than 10 hours, the U.S. Air Force said it has a "global reach" and "global destruction" capabilities. B-2A set a variety of high-precision technology in one, but also because of the stealth performance of outstanding, by connoisseurs The B-2A combines a variety of highly sophisticated technologies, and because of its outstanding stealth performance, it has been hailed by connoisseurs as "a milestone in the history of military aircraft development in this century". According to reports, the B-52 bomber radar reflective cross-section of 1,000 square meters, the MiG-29 for 25 square meters, B-lB for less than l square meters, while the B-2A is less than 0.1 square meters, only equivalent to a bird in the sky of the radar reflective cross-section, which makes it possible to make the B-52 bomber more stealthy and more stealthy. Radar reflection cross-section, which makes the general radar is difficult to find it. So, where does this stealth come from?
The B-2 stealth performance first from its shape. B-2A's overall shape is smooth and rounded, no "wrinkles", not easy to reflect radar waves. The cockpit is curved, and radar waves shining into it will "crawl" around the shape of the cabin and not be reflected back. The hermetically sealed glass canopy has a beveled surface, and all glass is manufactured with metal powder, which prevents radar waves from penetrating the hull and causing diffuse reflections. The wings are swept back 33 degrees so that radar waves incident from the up and down directions cannot be reflected or refracted back in the direction of the radar. The rear of the wing's leading edge covering has irregular honeycomb-like cavities that absorb radar waves. Two W's in the rear half of the wing prevent detection radar waves from the rear of the aircraft from being reflected back. Also, the B-2A has no vertical tail, which greatly reduces the overall radar reflection cross section of the aircraft. There is no weapons bay or weapons mount under the fuselage, and even the engine bay and landing gear bay are all buried under the smooth wing, thus avoiding the reflection of radar waves.The entire fuselage of the B-2 aircraft, except for the main beams and engine nacelles using Chin composite materials, the other parts of the aircraft are made of composite materials, such as carbon fibers and graphite, which are not easy to reflect radar waves. Moreover, these different composite parts are not put together by rivets, but by high-pressure die-casting. In addition, the leading edge of the alum wing is completely covered with a layer of special wave-absorbing material (RAM). The two square protruding parts located at the front of the wing, containing the radar scanning antenna array, were also made of special wave-absorbing material. In addition, the entire fuselage of the B-2A is sprayed with special wave-absorbing paint, which largely reduces the echo of enemy detection radar.
In order to stealth needs, the B-2A aircraft engine air intake is placed on the top of the wing, in the shape of an S, which allows the incoming detection radar to be refracted many times after the natural attenuation, can not be reflected back. The engine nozzles were placed deep within the wing, also in the shape of a honeycomb, so that radar waves could enter but not exit. In addition, the engine components are equipped with airflow mixer, it can flow through the wing surface of the cold air into the engine, continue to reduce the temperature of the outdoor layer of the engine. The nozzle section is broadly flattened so that the nozzle cannot be seen from the rear of the airplane. Especially due to the use of nozzle temperature regulation technology, the nozzle part of the infrared exposure signal is greatly reduced, the aircraft stealth performance greatly enhanced.
Airborne systems
The B-2A aircraft has many advanced airborne electronic systems, such as reconnaissance, navigation, targeting, electronic countermeasures and other systems, which have their own duties and extraordinary functions. On the detection radar system, it is usually played on the aircraft "eyes" role. B-2A on the use of AN / APQ-181 radar, manufactured for Hughes, with a narrower spectrum, the signal is not easy to be intercepted by the enemy's advantages. This electronic scanning phased array radar system, there are two radar antenna arrays, characterized by no additional rotating or swinging antenna, only through the signal array position changes and combinations, you can scan for different angles and different directions. Its operating frequency is 12-18GHZ, with extremely small side wave flaps and strong resistance to electronic interference. There are 21 working modes***, the most prominent of which are the synthetic aperture radar (SAR) working mode and anti-synthetic aperture radar (ASAR) mode. The former is mainly used for scanning land terrain and can clearly acquire radar scanning images of the surface within a distance of 161 kilometers for use by aircraft in bombing ground targets; the latter is mainly used for identifying and capturing targets at sea, with a maximum effective distance of up to 128 kilometers. In addition, these modes of operation allow the B-2A bomber to use terrain matching and terrain avoidance techniques, enabling it to break into enemy airspace at low altitude to carry out bombing missions.
The B-2A is also equipped with an advanced NSS navigation system. There are two types of navigation equipment installed in the system, an inertial navigation unit and a NAS-27 astronomical navigation unit. They can provide the B-2A with advanced automatic navigation and the most commonly used constellation-aligned navigation methods, respectively, to double ensure flight safety.
The targeting system on board is a global positioning-assisted targeting system, which can lock and magnify the selected target by 4 times, greatly facilitating the crew's identification and targeting of the target, thus greatly improving the accuracy of the bomb hits. According to the U.S. side of the disclosure, with the help of this positioning aided targeting system, the error of the bomb hitting the target is usually less than 6 meters.
The B-2A also has an APQ-50 electronic countermeasures system. This system can provide radar warning for the aircraft, but also can quickly detect the enemy radar location coordinates. The aircraft's ZSR-62 active electronic countermeasures system can quickly and actively jam and suppress the enemy.
There are other electronic systems on board, such as the communications management system and various display systems in the cockpit, which can combine and display information and images obtained from all sensors for use by the crew in judging and handling the situation, and in liaising with the relevant departments on the ground. In front of each of the two crew members' seats, there are four full-color 15.2 cm multi-function displays, making the situation clear at a glance.
Ammunition Carrying Capacity
The B-2A bomber can carry 16 AGM-129 cruise missiles, 80 MK82 or 16 MK84 bombs or 36 CBU-87 cluster bombs, and the new TSSM long-range strike munitions (LRAM). When using the new TSSM long-range strike munitions, it can carry 16 bombs. When using nuclear weapons, it can carry 16 B63 nuclear bombs. In addition, AGM-129 cruise missiles can also carry nuclear warheads.
The U.S. Air Force has been based on the actual combat situation of the Gulf War, the B-2A bombing capability has been projected. To the U.S. military bombing mission on Iraqi targets commonly used "attack task force" as an example, it is usually carried by 16 precision-guided bombs attack aircraft, 16 escorting fighters, 4 accompanied by electronic jamming aircraft, 8 for the suppression of ground anti-aircraft artillery ground attack aircraft and 7 KC-135 refueling aircraft formed. 135 refueling aircraft were organized. The bombing effect of these 49 aircraft could have been achieved with eight F-117As plus two KC-135 refuelers. If the B-2A were used instead, it would take off from the Diego Garcia base in the Indian Ocean without aerial refueling, requiring only two aircraft and four crews.
In the future, as the U.S. Army's Joint Direct Attack Munition weapon system is gradually equipped with troops, B-2A aircraft may also carry this weapon. At that time, the B-2A only need to fire this weapon from a distance after the return flight, or perform the next task, because the JDAM weapon itself with the last bombing aircraft in the United States, B-2 seems to be always the focus of media attention. Once upon a time, journalists have trumpeted it as the "ultimate weapon"; in recent years, it has been criticized, called "expensive high-tech toys". But for better or worse, there is one undeniable fact: the B-2A is good, but it's expensive.
In 1978, when the manufacturer won the contract to develop the B-2, it offered $36.6 billion for the production of 132 aircraft. By 1984, the manufacturer's total offer had risen to $42.5 billion, forcing the USAF to reduce the number of aircraft ordered, and in 1987, the USAF decided to buy only 75, but still had to pay $35 billion.
In 1993, when the U.S. Congress decided to purchase only 20 B-2A, the Air Force's up-front development costs and the manufacturer's start-up costs had reached $44.4 billion. Even after deducting development costs, the cost of each aircraft was $840 million. 1995, under the final contract, the manufacturer built 20 B-2As at a rate of three per year, which amounted to about $600 million per aircraft. Even so, if you add in the development costs, the cost of buying a single B-2A would be more than $2 billion!
Another important reason that makes the B-2 expensive is the difficulty in maintaining it. A few years ago, when the B-2A was just equipped with troops, the maintenance tasks were basically done by the technicians of the major companies, and the maintenance time per flight hour, was 132 hours. After each flight mission, the high-speed airflow would cause wear and tear on the surface layer of the fuselage. In order to ensure that the stealth performance of the aircraft does not decline, after each flight, the technicians have to use a method similar to spray paint to refurbish the radar-absorbing material on the surface layer of the B-2A, and the newly sprayed absorbing material can only be dried and cured at a certain temperature and humidity. Due to the lack of sufficient spare parts and perfect maintenance equipment, the B-2A has been unable to deploy in overseas bases, which is an intolerable shortcoming for the U.S. military, which operates on a global deployment. The B-2A has been absent from the battlefield, despite the fact that the U.S. military has used force overseas on numerous occasions since the B-2A was equipped with troops.
The high cost and complexity of maintenance and upkeep make it uninteresting to any country outside the United States. Even in the United States, the B-2 production line has been shut down, and 90 percent of the more than 4,000 suppliers of spare parts for the B-2 have converted their production lines to other uses; even Thomas Gosling, commander of the 509th Bombardment Wing of the U.S. Air Force, which equipped the B-2, was forced to admit that the B-2A was not the best choice for the battlefield, but it was the best choice for the war effort. Even Brigadier General Thomas Gosling, commander of the USAF's 509th Bombardment Wing, had to admit that there would be no more B-3s or B-4s in the next 20 years, and that it would take 30 years to realize that the B-2 was just an afterthought in the glorious history of bomber development.
The first unit to be equipped with the B-2 stealth bomber was the 393rd Squadron of the 509th Bombardment Wing, which had already been equipped with eight of the 20th batch of aircraft and had initial operational capability.
The B-2 bomber was originally designed as a nuclear weapons delivery aircraft, with its basic weapons being the B83 and B61 nuclear bombs. The maximum bomb load was 22,700kg (50,000lb). It can also mount a variety of weapons such as close-in attack missiles, GPS-assisted guided bombs, Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAMs), Joint Exterior Defense Attack Missiles (JEDAMs) and conventional bombs such as the MK82.
Operational Approach and Effectiveness Estimates
Capable of Multi-Target Attack
On June 12, 1997, during operational testing at White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico, the B-2 bomber dropped 16 JDAM-guided bombs in a single pass. 16 bombs were aimed at a cluster of targets. The target cluster consisted of eight targets located within two areas, with two JDAM bombs attacking one target.
The B-2 stealth bomber's integrated combat effectiveness is high, utilizing its own stealth characteristics, and usually does not require escort and suppression of opposing air defense system support aircraft when performing combat missions. The U.S. Air Force estimates that a mission accomplished by two B-2 bombers using a non-stealth combat aircraft would require 32 F-16s as well as 16 F-15s escorting them, several EF-111s and EA-6Bs suppressing opposing air defenses, and 15 KC-135 refueling tankers.
March 25, 1999 NATO bombardment of the FRY with B-2s Powerplant Four General Electric F118-GE-110 unboosted turbofan engines, each with a maximum thrust of 84.5 kN. Mounted in pairs between the outboard side of the weapons bay and the wing structure, chlorofluorosulfuric acid was sprayed and mixed into the exhaust to eliminate the visual wake of the engines.
Main airborne equipment Hughes AN/APQ-181 low interceptibility J-band attack radar (with terrain following and evasive and other 21 use modes), targeting system with GPS assist, TCN-250 Tacom system, VIR-130A automatic landing system, AN/APR-50 radar warning receiver, and the ZSR-63 defense auxiliary equipment. The equipment is also available in the form of the ZSR-63 Defense Auxiliary and other equipment.
Weapons The two weapons bays can accommodate Boeing rotary missile launchers with a total*** capacity of 16 AGM-129 advanced cruise missiles or 16 B61/B83 nuclear bombs, 80 227 kg Mk82 bombs, 16 Joint Direct Attack Weapons (JDAW), 16 908 kg Mk84 bombs, 36 M117 incendiary bombs, 36 CBU-87/89/97/98 cluster bombs, and a total*** capacity of 16 AGM-139 advanced cruise missiles or 16 B61/B83 nuclear bombs. /89/97/98 cluster bombs, etc.
Dimensional data The length of the aircraft is 21.03 meters, the height is 5.18 meters, the wingspan is 52.43 meters, and the wing swept back angle is 33 degrees.
Weight and Load Empty weight 45,360-49,900 kg, max weapon load 18,144 kg, max in-flight fuel 81,650-90,720 kg, normal takeoff weight 152,635 kg, max takeoff weight 170,550 kg.
Performance data Approach speed 259 km/h, useful ceiling 15,240 m, range (air refueling once) >18,520 km, operational range (with 8 close-range attack missiles, 8 B83 bombs, weapon weight 16,919 kg), (high-high-high) 11,667 km, (high-low-high) 8,149 km, operational range (with 8 close-range Attack Missiles, 8 B61 Bombs, Weapon Weight 10,886 kg, Takeoff Weight 162386 kg), (High-High-High) 12223 km, (High-Low-High) 8334 km
Powerplant
Four General Electric F118-GE-100 no turbofan engines with 84.5 kN (8,620 kg) thrust each, S-shaped intakes, and V-shaped tail nozzles on the upper trailing edge of the wings, all in a special configuration for stealth.