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 ...
That said, the B-2 is a white elephant designed for a threat of long ago. Note the 'special hangars' comment. It's been said that they can't be exposed to water and the elements on an extended basis because of the stealth treatment. It has also been said in print and on the web that its 'stealth' robustness isn't so robust for lower frequency radars....
So, whenever there's a war, they trot out the B-2 to fly halfway around the war for one mission, drop a few bombs and then fly home - mission successful and raison d'etre reconfirmed, so to speak. Shortly thereafter the rest of the fighters swoop in with the laser guided bombs, GPS bombs, ARMs, etc. and do the real job.
Down here we all support Kadaffii.
If you haven’t written your congressman and demanded impeachment of Obama, there is still time today.
If I recall correctly, the last time B-2’s were used in strikes on some middle eastern dictator’s facilities, the mission was not described as “epic.”
But I guess if it’s authorized by the great hero 0bama, it must be a journey of Odyssean proportions.
Look at post#5. See that water?
Yes, we get the picture now. Three times ought to do it.
IT’s good PR for the B-2’s to fly the first strike. It helps justify the cost of these birds. It’s not really true that they rarely leave their hangars. It’s quite common to see them coming and going when you drive along Highway 50 near Whiteman Air Force Base.
This was a readiness capabilities test, just showing to the world (aka China) that these beasts can do such an act.
Now imagine all 20 of them leaving Whitman AFB for points in NK or China with nukes, if the time come...
Keeping these guys and gals sharp is far more important than any political agenda... Obama won;t be president forever...
Ya’ll need to stop acting like whiny Democrats....
Or F-117s or F-22s.
WAG THE DOG.
LLS
In WWII this would have been called the ultimate milk run.
DU loves providing air support for islamists, whether it’s the KLA in Kosovo, or the Muslim Brotherhood in Libya (the largest opposition group in the country, we’re now finding out).
I understand FReepers pride themselves on supporting the military. My wife and I have given more money to military charities than any other. They’re not responsible for this disastrous action. But that doesn’t change the fact it is a disastrous action that will have horrible consequences.
Thanks.
All the world pretty knows what our capabilities are so we haven’t shown them anything new.
Just because we can fly these missions doesn’t mean we should.
This is more about beefing up Obama’s resume for the 2012 election than doing anything beneficial for the USA.
If we want to spend more money on military action and bomb some more muslims we should do it in Afghanistan so we can leave there sometime before the end of another decade.
Well, glad we used them, then. Otherwise, who needs 2.1 billion dollar hangar queens?
Does anybody know which the Vacationer-In-Chief is.
A Sunni or a Shiite??
Didnt they used to fly hour of Whiteman (I may the spelling wrong) in MO and back all of the time?
The Route of flight was different then that straight line of course-—It probably went Whiteman, Atlanta, Charleston, Lajes, Rota, Sigonella, then turn towards the IP and bomb release run with probably 4 aerial refuels involved ont the way there and back.
The only “creature comforts” they have is a lawnchair placed behind them for one pilot to catch some Z’s enroute. The longest flight I ever flew was Travis direct to Saudi Arabia during Operation Determined Resolve back in the summer of ‘87. (Iranians throwing mines into the Persian Gulf).
That’s why they have pee-tubes and collection bags.
I once briefed some Marine F-18 pilots (10 or 12 of them) who were flying non-stop From Lajes Field, Azores to Southern California. They briefed the times they were to take their pep pills... I forget how long the flight was but you couldn’t pay me enough...zzzzzzz. (They all made it safely, BTW)
The Block IV's can! If I remember correctly, the rebuilt Ohio boomers(the Florida, Georgia, Michigan and Ohio) are fully populated with 'em. They can be launched untargeted and tasked by the Seal teams that have infiltrated the country from the sub. They also have a loiter mode while they await tasking.
From Navy.mil: " Tomahawk Block IV (TLAM-E) is the latest improvement to the Tomahawk missile family. Block IV capability enhancements include: (a) increased flexibility utilizing two-way satellite communications to reprogram the missile in-flight to a new aimpoint or new preplanned mission, send a new mission to the missile en route to a new target, and missile health and status messages during the flight; (b) increased responsiveness with faster launch timelines, mission planning capability aboard the launch platform, loiter capability in the area of emerging targets, the ability to provide battle damage indication in the target area, and the capability to provide a single-frame image of the target or other areas of interest along the missile flight path; and (c) improved affordability with a production cost of a Block IV significantly lower than the cost of a new Block III and a 15-year Block IV recertification interval compared to the eight-year interval for Block III."
All this at a cost of $569,000 per copy.
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