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A day after publicly disclosing a safety stand-down for its entire fleet of B-2 Spirit bombers, the Air Force clarified that the nuclear-capable B-2 can still fly—if absolutely necessary. Meanwhile, the Department of Defense is investigating the Dec. 10 incident at Whiteman Air Force Base, Mo., involving a B-2 that sparked the safety stand-down in the first place. In a statement released Dec. 20, the 509th Bomb Wing, which operates the Air Force’s fleet of 20 B-2s, said the stealth strategic bombers ”can be flown if directed by the commander in chief to fulfill mission requirements.” Short of that, all...

The Air Force has grounded its entire B-2 Spirit fleet and will inspect each stealth bomber after one of the aircraft caught fire during an emergency landing earlier this month. The multi-role bomber, which was first unveiled in 1989, is capable of delivering both conventional and nuclear munitions. The 20-aircraft fleet is based out of Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri. A B-2 Spirit experienced an undisclosed in-flight malfunction that resulted in an emergency landing at Whiteman on Dec. 10. No one was injured. …

The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency on Friday formally declassified an image then-US President Donald Trump tweeted in 2019 of a highly classified satellite photograph depicting the site of a failed Iranian rocket launch. NPR reported that the NGA declassified the image after a “grueling Pentagon-wide review to determine whether the briefing slide it came from could be shared with the public” in response to a Freedom of Information Act request from the radio network. Many details on the original image remain redacted – a clear sign that Trump was sharing some of the US government's most prized intelligence on social media,...

A B2 Spirit stealth bomber, one of the most deadly weapons in the United States' military arsenal and worth $2billion, was damaged after an emergency landing at Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri today. Nobody was injured and there was no fire once the bomber landed. The incident involving the B2 happened around 12.30am and unfolded in a temporary flight restriction six miles in all directions and 8,000ft from the ground up. The B2 is manufactured with materials that could become highly toxic if exposed to an accident, the outlet reported. The only other crash reported of a B2 bomber...

========================================================================== A photograph appears to show a plane flying over Edwards Air Force base that's unlike any aircraft publicly acknowledged by the U.S. Air Force. The aircraft appears similar to the RQ-180, a high-altitude spy drone. The RQ-180’s existence has never been confirmed by the U.S. Air Force. ======================================================================== The image (above) depicts a flying wing-shaped aircraft leaving a contrail in its wake. An observer reportedly took the photo while the aircraft was over the Military Operating Area at Edwards Air Force Base in California. According to Aviation Week & Space Technology, the aircraft “was flying in a racetrack pattern...

Three American B-2 stealth bombers have arrived in the Indian Ocean island of Diego Garcia on the eve of Chinese live-firing naval exercises north of Taiwan. It is the first time the nuclear-capable strategic bombers have been sent to the remote island since 2016, in an indication of the growing concern about China’s intentions towards Taiwan. The bombers flew across the Pacific from Whiteman air force base in Missouri to land at Diego Garcia, part of the British Indian Ocean Territory. With their advanced stealth technology, the B-2s can penetrate enemy territory without alerting air-defence radars. This week just as...

Plane spotters were left in awe at the world's most expensive and secretive plane - while it soared just 60 feet over their heads.

US Strategic Command, the unified military force that controls the launch of nuclear weapons, tweeted an unusual New Year's Eve message on Monday featuring B-2 bombers dropping 30,000-pound conventional weapons at a test range. "#TimesSquare tradition rings in the #NewYear by dropping the big ball...if ever needed, we are #ready to drop something much, much bigger," the tweet from US Strategic Command's official account said. The post, later deleted, included a sizzle reel initially released earlier this year, showing a B-2 bomber dropping "a pair of conventional Massive Ordnance Penetrators (MOP) at a test range," the Pentagon said. A Strategic...

The B-61-12 gravity bomb, a GPS-guided behemoth that’s been in development since 2008, can penetrate three meters of earth before detonating and dial up a nuclear yield of between 0.3 kilotons and 50 kilotons of devastating power. A message to Iran? Read on: An Air Force B-2 stealth bomber just completed the first test drop of an advanced nuclear gravity bomb, Military.com reported on June 30. The B-61-12 gravity bomb , a GPS-guided behemoth that’s been in development since 2008 , can penetrate three meters of earth before detonating and dial up a nuclear yield of between 0.3 kilotons and...

President Donald Trump said on Thursday he wants to build up the U.S. nuclear arsenal to ensure it is at the "top of the pack," saying the United States has fallen behind in its atomic weapons capacity. In a Reuters interview, Trump also complained about Russian deployment of a cruise missile in violation of an arms control treaty and said he would raise the issue with Russian President Vladimir Putin when and if they meet. On another front, Trump said China could solve the national security challenge posed by North Korea "very easily if they want to," ratcheting up pressure...

It’s no surprise that the Iranian nuclear program talks are shaky; Guy has detailed the long, tedious, and sometime frustrating timeline of these diplomatic talks. So, given that we’re approaching the June 30th deadline–with the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei issuing demands that the U.S. could never agree to–what’s the military option, if there is one? The answer is MOP, or “Massive Ordnance Penetrator;” the largest and most powerful nonnuclear bomb we have in our arsenal (via Politico): …at least three times in the past year, a B-2 stealth bomber has taken off from an Air Force base in Missouri...

The U.S. Air Force's secret program to develop as many as 100 next-generation bombers that can stealthily strike any target in the world has some experts calling the $550 million per plane price tag laughable. *SNIP* Another critic compared the initiative to the costly B-2 program, which was eventually slashed, and said the cost estimate is "as close to meaningless numbers can be." *SNIP* The Post reported that the Air Force intends on the plane taking its first stealth flight in the mid-2020s. . "I think the long-range strike bomber is absolutely essential to keep our deterrent edge as we...

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel on Tuesday vigorously endorsed an Air Force plan to build a next-generation strategic bomber, arguing that it would help deter nuclear war and preserve America's global pre-eminence. "I think the long-range strike bomber is absolutely essential to keep our deterrent edge as we go into the next 25 years," Hagel told reporters after addressing a group of several hundred airmen at this B-2 stealth bomber base in western Missouri. Hagel later traveled to Marine Corps Air Station Miramar in San Diego, and also planned to visit Navy sailors aboard an aircraft carrier and Army soldiers in...

Even if B-52s have been used to test it, the B-2 Spirit stealth bomber is the only aircraft in the U.S. Air Force inventory currently capable to carry and release the heaviest U.S. bomb, the 30,000-lb GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP). The heavy GBU-57 is a 20-foot long GPS-guided bomb believed to be able to penetrate 200 feet of concrete before exploding, thus being capable to hit and destroy deeply buried targets. Like bunkers in Iran, Syria or North Korea…. There are not many images showing the GBU-57 and even less show the MOP next to its intended platform. ....

One of the most distinctive features of U.S. military power is the Air Force’s fleet of heavy bombers. .... However, after 80 years of steadily developing better bombers — basically, since it entered World War One — the U.S. ceased spending money on new long-range strike aircraft following the collapse of the Soviet Union. There aren’t many bombers left. All of the bombers are old. No new bomber is waiting in the wings.

The Stealth Bomber Elite Fewer than 100 pilots climb the ladder to the B-2 cockpit. Crew chiefs from Whiteman’s 509th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron and 131st Bomb Wing give a B-2 a complete inspection, required every 1,000 flight hours. USAF / Senior Airman Nick Wilson “Undetected inbound, unscathed outbound.” That’s how one pilot summarized his mission to bomb targets in Baghdad with the $2.2 billion Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit on the first night of Operation Iraqi Freedom in March 2003. His words capture the reasons the Air Force built such an expensive bomber to launch global-strike missions, which B-2 pilots fly...

The Photographer Senior Airman Courtney Witt, United States Air Force   Via http://ChamorroBible.org/gpw/gpw-200905.htm (medium, large, huge) 

Ever notice that this administration is only lightning-fast when it comes to shifting blame when things don’t work out perfectly? They practically left a vapor trail in their zeal to anonymously accuse the US military of being responsible for our tense situation with North Korea: So, it’s the Navy’s fault that the U.S.-North Korea spat has gone so far? That’s the apparent message from senior administration officials who, according to the Wall Street Journal on Thursday, said that they had long planned to send B-52s, B-2 stealth bombers, and F-22 fighters to the Korean Peninsula as part of preplanned wargames...

<p>SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — The U.S military says two nuclear-capable B-2 bombers have completed a training mission in South Korea amid threats from North Korea that include nuclear strikes on Washington and Seoul.</p> <p>The statement Thursday by U.S. Forces Korea is an unusual confirmation. It follows an earlier U.S. announcement that nuclear-capable B-52 bombers participated in ongoing U.S.-South Korean military drills.</p>

U.S. Air Force B-2 Spirit stealth bomber sitting on the flight line at Langley Air Force Base, Virginia, USA. Via http://ChamorroBible.org/gpw/gpw-200905.htm (medium, large) The Photographer  Staff Sgt. Eric T. Sheler, United States Air Force