Post subject: Re: The B2 in B2 Bomber stands for $2B!
Posted: 21 Jun 2025, 22:44
Joined: 08/16/15 Posts: 3435 Post Likes: +4970 Location: Ogden UT
Aircraft: Piper M600
To all the naysayers, welcome to the United States of America. There is no place on earth that bad people are safe. Even those of us in the know, really don’t know what the capability of United States military is, but it’s typically 20 years ahead of what we think it is.
_________________ Chuck Ivester Piper M600 Ogden UT
They keep the B2s inside hardened hangars when they're at Whiteman, I doubt that the explosives delivered by a commercial drone could get to them there. They do deploy them to forward bases occasionally but from what I learned talking to a friend who was a B2 pilot, most missions are flown directly from Whiteman. They might be vulnerable during takeoff and landing although I know from personal experience that you will get checked by base security if you park near the base even if you're outside the perimeter.
Your information is not accurate.
The hangars at Whiteman are mostly environmentally controlled to protect the stealth coatings, not to protect against kinetic threats.
I have no idea how to protect a hangar and aircraft from a UKR-inspired thermite attack from above.
_________________ Holoholo …
Post subject: Re: The B2 in B2 Bomber stands for $2B!
Posted: 22 Jun 2025, 11:40
Joined: 03/28/17 Posts: 8387 Post Likes: +10587 Location: N. California
Aircraft: C-182
Username Protected wrote:
I've always been fascinated with military aircraft, from the P51 Mustang to the F15 Strike Eagle to the B1B Bomber, these aircraft are awe inspiring!
I've seen the B1B in flight, I even have a friend who was a B1B pilot. She is the real deal.
The B1B is a nuclear deterrent like no other, an incredible engineering marvel... but it doesn't come close to the Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit in terms of versatility or firepower.
We currently have 19 B2 Spirit bombers in operation, at an average cost of over $2B each!
From Wikipedia: General characteristics Crew: 2: pilot (left seat) and mission commander (right seat) Length: 69 ft 0 in Wingspan: 172 ft 0 in Height: 17 ft 0 in Wing area: 5,140 sq ft Empty weight: 158,000 lb Gross weight: 336,500 lb Max takeoff weight: 376,000 lb Fuel capacity: 167,000 pounds Powerplant: 4 × General Electric F118-GE-100 non-afterburning turbofans
Performance Maximum speed: 630 mph (550 kn) at 40,000 ft altitude / Mach 0.95 at sea level Cruise speed: 560 mph (487 kn) at 40,000 ft altitude Range: 6,900 mi (6,000 nmi) Service ceiling: 50,000 ft Wing loading: 67.3 lb/sq ft Thrust/weight: 0.205
Armament 2 internal bays for ordnance and payload with an official limit of 40,000 lb; maximum estimated limit is 50,000 lb.
Ordnance options carried include: 80× 500 lb class bombs (Mk-82, GBU-38) mounted on Bomb Rack Assembly (BRA) 36× 750 lb CBU class bombs on BRA 16× 2,000 lb class bombs (Mk-84, GBU-31) mounted on Rotary Launcher Assembly (RLA) 16× B61 or B83 nuclear bombs on RLA (strategic mission)
Post subject: Re: The B2 in B2 Bomber stands for $2B!
Posted: 22 Jun 2025, 11:46
Joined: 03/28/17 Posts: 8387 Post Likes: +10587 Location: N. California
Aircraft: C-182
Username Protected wrote:
I don't think we need worry that any enemy is going to launch drones to strike deep inside the continental United States!
That's the beauty of a long range bomber like the B2, it need not be in theater, you can launch it from Missouri, fly it half way around the world, unleash massive destruction and then fly home.
I'd not be too sure of that. An innocuous conex container at a truck depot a dozen miles away and the top pops off and a drone swarm emerges. This is very much on the forefront of defensive thought these days and they don't have to even hit the B-2. Hit the hangar and the door can't open, scatter cluster munitions or mines on the apron, hit the electrical infrastructure of the base.
The good news is this type of attack was being thought about (at least where I worked) perhaps 15 years ago so defensive countermeasures are out there and growing. Not perfect but we can no longer rely on our oceans as a fortress wall.
Yes, and now we have to keep an eye on all the farmland near our military bases the Chinese bought. We need to make sure that there is grain in those silos.
Post subject: Re: The B2 in B2 Bomber stands for $2B!
Posted: 22 Jun 2025, 20:48
Joined: 11/03/08 Posts: 16347 Post Likes: +27483 Location: Peachtree City GA / Stoke-On-Trent UK
Aircraft: A33
Username Protected wrote:
.I have no illusion of privacy.
And you don’t have to compromise, you can have it both ways. A government that infringes on your privacy AND remains highly vulnerable to asymmetric warfare.
Post subject: Re: The B2 in B2 Bomber stands for $2B!
Posted: 23 Jun 2025, 07:06
Joined: 11/03/08 Posts: 16347 Post Likes: +27483 Location: Peachtree City GA / Stoke-On-Trent UK
Aircraft: A33
This bombing may be an unfortunate necessity and hopefully it accomplished the objective of setting back their nuclear program, but it is not something to cheer about. Note that the rah-rah cheering generally comes from people who neither served nor have travelled and worked in these parts of the world. There are no winners from this episode, only losers on all sides.
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