![]() It developed stealth technology, LO (low observables), fly-by-wire, curved surfaces, composite materials, electronic intelligence (ELINT), and Battlefield Surveillance Aircraft Experimental (BSAX). Northrop also had a classified technology demonstration aircraft, the Tacit Blue in development in 1979 at Area 51. Lockheed received the sole award for the second test round in April 1976 leading to the Have Blue program and eventually the F-117 stealth attack aircraft. Northrop and Lockheed were awarded contracts in the first round of testing. Plans were well advanced by the summer of 1975, when DARPA started the Experimental Survivability Testbed (XST) project. Development of the first such designs started in 1975 with "the Hopeless Diamond", a model Lockheed built to test the concept. A key improvement was the introduction of computer models used to predict the radar reflections from flat surfaces where collected data drove the design of a "faceted" aircraft. Lockheed had experience in this field due to developing the Lockheed A-12 and SR-71, which included a number of stealthy features, notably its canted vertical stabilizers, the use of composite materials in key locations, and the overall surface finish in radar-absorbing paint. Initially, Northrop and McDonnell Douglas were selected for further development. aviation firms about the largest radar cross-section of an aircraft that would remain effectively invisible to radars. In 1974, DARPA requested information from U.S. Although other detection measures existed, such as human observation, infrared scanners, acoustic locators, their relatively short detection range or poorly-developed technology allowed most aircraft to fly undetected, or at least untracked, especially at night. An aircraft having radar stealth characteristics would be able to fly nearly undetected and could be attacked only by weapons and systems not relying on radar. The concept was to build an aircraft with an airframe that deflected or absorbed radar signals so that little was reflected back to the radar unit. īy the mid-1970s, military aircraft designers had learned of a new method to avoid missiles and interceptors, known today as " stealth". It later served in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Libya. Though designed originally as primarily a nuclear bomber, the B-2 was first used in combat dropping conventional, non-nuclear ordnance in the Kosovo War in 1999. It entered service in 1997 as the second aircraft designed to have advanced stealth technology after the Lockheed F-117 Nighthawk attack aircraft. The B-2 is capable of all-altitude attack missions up to 50,000 feet (15,000 m), with a range of more than 6,000 nautical miles (6,900 mi 11,000 km) on internal fuel and over 10,000 nautical miles (12,000 mi 19,000 km) with one midair refueling. As of 2018, twenty B-2s are in service with the United States Air Force, which plans to operate them until 2032, when the Northrop Grumman B-21 Raider is to replace them. In 2008, a B-2 was destroyed in a crash shortly after takeoff, though the crew ejected safely. During the late 1980s and 1990s, Congress slashed plans to purchase 132 bombers to 21. The winding-down of the Cold War in the latter portion of the 1980s dramatically reduced the need for the aircraft, which was designed with the intention of penetrating Soviet airspace and attacking high-value targets. ![]() īecause of its considerable capital and operating costs, the project was controversial in the U.S. The total program cost, which included development, engineering and testing, averaged $2.13 billion per aircraft in 1997. Total procurement costs averaged $929 million per aircraft, which includes spare parts, equipment, retrofitting, and software support. Designed and manufactured by Northrop, later Northrop Grumman, the cost of each aircraft averaged US$737 million (in 1997 dollars). Program costs rose throughout development. The ATB project continued during the Reagan administration, but worries about delays in its introduction led to the reinstatement of the B-1 program. The B-2 is the only acknowledged aircraft that can carry large air-to-surface standoff weapons in a stealth configuration.ĭevelopment started under the "Advanced Technology Bomber" (ATB) project during the Carter administration its expected performance was one of the President's reasons for the cancellation of the Mach 2 capable B-1A bomber. The bomber is subsonic and can deploy both conventional and thermonuclear weapons, such as up to eighty 500-pound class (230 kg) Mk 82 JDAM GPS-guided bombs, or sixteen 2,400-pound (1,100 kg) B83 nuclear bombs. Designed during the Cold War, it is a flying wing design with a crew of two. The Northrop (later Northrop Grumman) B-2 Spirit, also known as the Stealth Bomber, is an American heavy strategic bomber, featuring low observable stealth technology designed for penetrating dense anti-aircraft defenses.
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