Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit

quellish said:
Yes, there is not a line in START I that says "The B-2 cannot carry ALCMs".

START I limited the total number of weapons and how they were counted. The implementation of START I had severe effects on the US heavy bomber force to preserve the other components of the strategic triad and its modernization.

- All but 71 B-52s were to be destroyed
- The efforts to certify the B-1B to carry ACM and ALCM were stopped.
- Plans for the B-2 to be certified to carry the ACM and ALCM were also stopped.
- Reduced production of the ACM



The 1 or 2 B-1Bs that could carry cruise missiles for flight testing carried external... things that could be verified by national technical means. There is no reason the same could not be done with the B-2.
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My point stands -- not banned by treaty, but by a set of constraints the US adopted. There were other ways we could have sliced things that would have allowed B-2;to be a CM carrier, but they would have been strange choices

And I'd definitely say that a suitable visual mod for the B-2 would be much harder than for earlier aircraft, because it would inherently alter the RCS reducing geometry.
 
According to the AFM Stealth publication 2014, on page 57 (end of first column) it states that the B-2 was qualified to AGM-129s up to 2012 when they were withdrawn.
 
Alex Hollings from Sandboxx has just put out a video about how a B-2A Spirit sunk a target in the RIMPAC2024 exercise held earlier this year using a Quicksink JDAM:


During a massive series of Maritime wargames called RIMPAC 2024 held earlier this month, a U.S. Air Force B-2 Spirit stealth bomber demonstrated a new relatively low-cost — but extremely effective — means of engaging even large enemy warships dubbed QUICKSINK. This weapon, which could be thought of as an anti-ship JDAM, has significant implications for the future of naval warfare, so let's talk about it.
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B-2 returns to Edwards for more development testing:

In addition to functional upgrades, a focus for the new campaign will be testing the integration of open mission systems architecture, known as Spirit Realm 1.

Assistant Director of Operations with the 419th Flight Test Squadron, Maj. Stephen Henderson, flew the B-2 back to Edwards on its anniversary.

“This is the first time that we are going to do agile software development with Spirit Realm, so that is a big change for us,” he said. “We are projected to work on that heavily this fall.”
[...]
“It’s a very big deal that higher levels in Air Force leadership decided we would be able to get the test jet back because the B-2 has a small fleet dynamic,” Maj. Henderson said. “So the fact that they were willing to give up one of their jets to do test really speaks to the importance of what we are looking to accomplish and hopefully get those new capabilities out to the warfighter as quickly as possible.”
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www.edwards.af.mil

B-2 Returns to Edwards on 35th Anniversary of First Flight

Edwards Air Force Base revisited a significant chapter of aviation history with the return of the B-2 Spirit on July 17, 35 years since its first flight from Air Force Plant 42, in Palmdale,
www.edwards.af.mil

Great video embedded in the link Crank up the volume!
 
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TomcatViP said:
Wouldn´t that be more an R&D airframe instead of one for continuous development?
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As @quellish mentioned they have to rotate if they're all on a 9-year depot cycle. That said, I'd expect them to rotate from the first six, to avoid adding to much orange wire when they swap. The press blurb from ED has a bit in there from the OT guys, so it's sounds like it's a second airframe to accelerate OT&E.
 
FighterJock said:
Anyone know the type of bombs that were used in the strikes? MOPs?
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Unknown. Looks like the B-2's stealth still very much works though. The Houthis definitely have SAMs (as verified by several Reaper shootdowns), but it managed to fly up close enough to the capital to drop a freefall bomb.
 
NGC got $7B for B-2 upgrades and support and the B-2 is going to be around a while. I'm sure B-21 LO has probably begun working its way to the B-2, evolution my friends.
 
Is there a retirement date for B-2? It seems like half the B-1s will be retired first and then the B-2s are next. It would only take a couple years of full rate to replace the fleet.
 
The B-2's should have at least a 50 year life, plenty of life in the airframe and will see many upgrades. The primary, future strike mix:
B-21
B-2
CCA (of different platform types beginning with small (Increment I) then medium (Increment II). If the current plans hold up.
Add-in the B-52s with the new motors and a few younger B-1s which have good airframe life since they were not used much over their career but will also get upgrades.
 

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