When was the b2 bomber invented

The B-2's long range meant it could fly deep into enemy territory and return home. With the collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War, the B-2 has been used to drop non-nuclear bombs. Its first overseas deployment, to Guam, was in , and it made its combat debut during the Kosovo War in , and has since flown sorties in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Libya.

More recently, the B-2 has been placed in bases in the Pacific as part of a strategy to deal with potential threats from North Korea, and to deter China. Source: US Air Force. Editor's note : Ben Brimelow , an editorial intern with Business Insider, wrote an earlier version of this post. For you. World globe An icon of the world globe, indicating different international options.

Get the Insider App. Click here to learn more. A leading-edge research firm focused on digital transformation. Good Subscriber Account active since Shortcuts. Account icon An icon in the shape of a person's head and shoulders. It often indicates a user profile. Log out. A product of the Cold War, it was originally designed to penetrate Soviet air defenses and carry both conventional and nuclear weapons. But shortly after its first flight, over 30 years ago in , the fall of the Berlin Wall ended the Cold War and no B-2 has ever flown inside Russian airspace.

Nevertheless, it has seen its fair share of combat. The first B-2 was delivered in to Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri, where the fleet is based and still operates, and its first operational use was during the Kosovo War. One of the most sophisticated flying machines in existence, the B-2 can reach a target anywhere in the world and return to base, refueling in mid-air.

No B-2 has ever been lost in combat. It is very special -- more of a sentient being than just a regular airplane. Maybe that's why all of the B-2s are rumored to have unique personalities and they're often referred to as she.

It is designed to be completely invisible to radar. Early 'flying wings'. Concordski: What ever happened to Soviets' spectacular rival to Concorde? The idea of designing a plane as a flying wing -- without a definite fuselage, a tail and other protuberances -- is an early one in aviation, surfacing before World War I in Germany and the Soviet Union.

Towards the end of World War II, Nazi Germany built and tested the Horten Ho , a futuristic flying wing aircraft with rudimentary stealth features, to which the B-2 bears a striking resemblance. In the United States, this type of design was pioneered by aircraft designer and industrialist Jack Northrop, whose first flying wing prototypes -- in small scale and powered by propeller engines -- took to the skies in Northrop's work culminated in the YB, his first jet powered flying wing design, in Far ahead of its time, the project was held back by technical difficulties and quickly scrapped.

However, the work done on the YB was used to kickstart the B-2 program the company that makes it was founded by Northrop himself -- and although the planes are decades apart, they have many similarities, including the exact same wingspan. A YB prototype aircraft in On Feb. The U. The demonstration, which took place in The flagship of the U. France's ambassador to Australia, Jean-Pierre Thebault, said on Wednesday that Australia acted with deceit when it abruptly cancelled a The military's non-tactical vehicle fleet alone is the second largest in the federal government next to the U.

The Kremlin has made modernization of the military a top priority as relations with Western nations have sunk to post-Cold While it's impossible to predict every kind of danger that will be present on a future battlefield, enough is known to The responsibility for preventing future calamities will rest largely with ship commanders, officials said.

A report has concluded there were failures by commanders and crew members that fueled the July arson fire that destroyed Equipment Military Aircraft. My Profile News Home Page.