Posted on 03/21/2011 12:19:12 PM PDT by Fennie
Six hero pilots return home safe and sound from a bombing mission to Libya which saw them in the cockpit for an incredible 25 hours.
Three B-2 Spirit bombers, piloted by two men each, made it back after the 11,418-mile round trip from the Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri - where they are kept in special hangars - to Libya, where they hit targets on forces loyal to Colonel Gaddafi and back again.
At $2.1bn, they are the most expensive warplanes in the world and rarely leave their climate-controlled hangars. But when it does, the B-2 bomber makes a spectacularly effective start to a war - including during this weekend's aerial attack on Libya's air defences.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
Was China impressed? Were they so impressed that they just dismantled their ICBMs out of a sense of futility? No?? I didn't think so.
They are not heros.
They did their job!
The arrow seems to be aimed a little far north for Missouri, is that aiming at Illinois?
Agreed.
Hopefully it is to prolong a civil war. I just worry about the size of the carbon footprint.
Instead of wasting good bombs in training, I see more cost benefit to use them on beneficial targets!
If we are this far down in our inventory of cruise missiles that we have to use the B-2s, perhaps next up will be Kerry in a swift boat straffing the harbors.
Well I doubt it - though Tomahawks ain’t cheap ($1 million each or there abouts.) What a B2 CAN do that a tomahawk can’t is to be retargeted, or take care of targets of opportunity.
There are reasons to use it over other weapons systems. The other simple fact is that the military has never been great at cost savings... that isn’t what they are for ;-) Their job is to kill people and break things in an efficient, violent manner.
Yup, as far as taking a break goes the billion dollar bomber was not built with beds. I do know the guy that installed the crapper on all 22 of them.
“They would be heroes if they had refused the mission”
You sounds like a DU poster
If a Republican was President, they’de be applauding. Everything is politicized nowadays. I wish we’d do more over there.
Have a complete toilet and food prep staion.
Institutionalized lunacy at work here folks.
I’m getting mixed signals on this thread...
That’s a lot of Jet-A !!
I also don't know what type of terminal maneuvers the Tomahawk can do and what kind of kinetics you get compared to an air dropped weapon, whether there is a penetrator option or not.
Personally, I can't see how AV8-B's got into the mix with their maintenance record at the same time they are using B-2s. If you want some air power in there why not bring a carrier. They can surge 100 sorties a day for a while and fly 60 sorties without really breaking a sweat.
If I was Qadaffi I would make a play at hitting Sicily with just a couple bombs. That would bring this whole thing to a screeching halt.
It’s the Air Force. I bet there is a putting green in that thing.
I would think the DU posters would be in favor because a leftie is pres...ent.
My own aversion to stupid, non-sensible and possibly illegal war actions is apolitical.
I wonder if liberals even care how many books that this cost would equate to in 'Reading Is Fundamental' or given to the Head Start program, as if there were a redemption center to convert military waste to Federal benefits programs.
Oh wait, I forgot. They're all behind the President. Spare no expense. This is the right thing to do.
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